Labor supply effects of long‐term care reform in Germany
研究德国1995年引入长期护理保险对非正式照料者劳动力供给的影响，发现该政策显著降低了男性照料者的劳动参与，但对女性无显著影响，揭示了政策制定中的权衡。
Many informal caregivers are of working age, facing the double burden of providing care and working. Negative labor supply effects can severely reduce the comparative cost advantage of informal over formal care arrangements. When designing long-term care (LTC) policies, it is crucial to understand the effects not only on health outcomes but also on labor supply behavior of informal caregivers. We evaluate labor supply reactions to the introduction of the German long-term care insurance in 1995 using a difference-in-differences approach. The long-term care insurance changes the caregivers' trade-off between labor supply and care provision. The aim of the reform was to strengthen informal care arrangements. We find a strong negative labor supply effect for men but not for women. We argue that the LTC benefits increased incentives for older men to leave the labor market. The results reveal a trade-off for policy makers that is important for future reforms-in particular for countries that mainly base their LTC system on informal care.