WELLCARE aims to investigate how the ‘care economy’ affects intra- and inter-generational redistribution through the lifecycle, in the context of ageing societies. By “care economy” we refer to the major kinds of caring services provided in our societies. We will focus on the two largest types of caring – for children including education, and for those living with disabilities, especially the elderly. In turn, these services – the essence of fulfilling caring responsibilities – are considered in three main categories: those provided in-cash or in-kind by publicly funded organizations (government), those purchased privately (market), and those provided in-kind by close family members (family).
In order to develop an in-depth understanding of the sources of intra and intergenerational inequality accounting for the role of the ‘care economy’, we will:
(i) explore and integrate existing sample survey(s) and related microdata sets in Europe and Canada both in financial terms and for measures of informal care provided and received (WP1);
(ii) analyze how different care systems and policies influence the size and composition of the caregiving groups in society, combining formal and informal care, gender-mix of caregivers, the role of family vs the role of the state, and the relevance of migration as a component of care supply (WP2);
(iii) examine well-being of those with care responsibilities, as identified by economic outcomes (mainly labour market status and income), other socio-economic indicators (e.g. health, life satisfaction), and the role played by policies and institutions;
(iv) develop a comparative open-source dynamic microsimulation model for policy analysis projecting the future care demand and supply, together with related monetary and time transfer flows consistent with the National Transfer Accounting (NTA) and National Time Transfer Accounting (NTTA) framework. The model will be applied for four countries (Canada, UK, Austrian and Spain) (WP3&5);
(v) Investigate the savings, employment and welfare effects associated with the demand and supply of care, and how do these vary through the life-course under alternative assumptions concerning agent intertemporal planning, focusing on the UK as a case-study (WP4).
WELLCARE brings together an interdisciplinary group of researchers in the different methodologies involved (developed between EUROMOD, dynamic microsimulation techniques and National Transfer Accounts), continuing the previous collaborations and in the WELTRASIM project. The synergies between WELLCARE’s researchers will improve the existing knowledge on the impact of the welfare state transfers in inequality.