title: Does home care for dependent elderly people improve their mental health?
abstract: While theoretical models on long-term care decisions assume that the health production function of dependent elderly depends positively on the care received, it has not received much attention in the empirical literature. We estimate the effects of both informal and formal home care on the mental health of elderly individuals in France needing help with daily activities. We adjust for the endogeneity of care with instrumental variables, using characteristics of adult children and geographical disparities in access to public long-term care coverage. The results show that informal care reduces the risk of depression of dependent elderly and that formal care increases their general mental health.
authors.affiliation: University of Rouen, 3 avenue Pasteur, Rouen Cedex 1 76186, France; ERUDITE laboratory, Université Paris-Est Créteil, 61 avenue du Général de Gaulle, Créteil Cedex 94010, France; TEPP (Labour, Employment and Public Policy), Fédération TEPP, UPE MLV, 5 bd Descartes-Champs sur Marne, Marne la Vallée Cedex 2 77454, France. Electronic address: thomas.barnay@univ-rouen.fr.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Barnay
authors.affiliation: University Paris-Est, 61 avenue du Général de Gaulle, Créteil Cedex 94010, France; ERUDITE laboratory, Université Paris-Est Créteil, 61 avenue du Général de Gaulle, Créteil Cedex 94010, France; TEPP (Labour, Employment and Public Policy), Fédération TEPP, UPE MLV, 5 bd Descartes-Champs sur Marne, Marne la Vallée Cedex 2 77454, France; INED (French Institute for Demographic Studies), 133 bd Davout, Paris Cedex 20 75940, France. Electronic address: sandrine.juin@ined.fr.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Juin
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D005602:France; D006306:Health Surveys; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health
keywords: Formal care; Health production; Informal care; Long-term care; Mental health