Unequal care provision: Evidence from the SHARE-Corona Survey

This paper brings new evidence on the differences in informal care provision across individuals. It is based on the SHARE-Corona survey, which collected data during the pandemic, involving about 43,000 respondents aged 50 and over in 28 countries. The survey recorded detailed information on the provision of care, characteristics of the caregiver, and of the care recipient at the individual level. We link the SHARE Corona Survey data with an individual-specific "stringency index", which measures the intensity of the lockdown policies and the degree of individual's exposure to these restrictions. We propose a new methodology to measure the degree of rationing of care that older people experienced during the pandemic and implement several specifications that explain the determinants of care provision. We find that women and people in the age group 50-64, especially if low income, were more likely to supply help or care, and also document the multi-facet interaction with the labour market status of caregivers.