Research

We analyze the spillover effects of long-term care arrangements within families across three generations. Using administrative data on the Dutch population, we evaluate the impact of a 2015 reform to public long-term care in the Netherlands. It promoted aging in place and introduced stricter criteria for nursing home access. We compare the labor supply adjustments of families with elders who lost access with those who remained eligible post-reform, in a Difference-in-Differences design. Losing access to nursing homes decreased children' wealth, and increased their labor supply. We examine heterogeneous responses by gender, family composition, individual opportunity costs, socioeconomic status, and location. Daughters increase (decrease) labor supply, if their hourly wage is higher (lower) than the opportunity cost of informal caregiving. Sons increase their work hours or decrease their savings, depending on their parents financial means. Grandsons decrease their labor supply, in smaller or richer families. Granddaughters also decrease their labor supply, if they no longer live with their parents.

We estimate the effect of additional pension benefits on mortality outcomes by exploring the two eligibility criteria of a German pension subsidy program for low-wage workers. Using novel administrative data, we find that eligibility leads to a 2-month delay in age at death (censored at 75). Survey evidence suggests that additional pension income improves both mental and physical health. In addition, individuals feel less financially constrained and are more optimistic about their future. Heterogeneity analysis suggests that the results are mainly driven by men.

The main rational motivation understood to be behind migration decisions is to improve opportunities and future life chances, both for the migrants themselves and for their offspring. Using unique administrative data on Italians living abroad, we estimate the effect of parental migration on the education, employment and income of descendants in the host country, by comparing Italian second-generation immigrants with Italians residing in Italy having similar characteristics, such as age, sex, Italian region of origin and parental background. To account for self-selection on unobservable characteristics, we apply a multinomial selection bias correction framework and, as robustness check, an instrumental variable approach. We find heterogeneous returns to migration across destination countries, higher returns in terms of estimated income than education, and observe important gender differences. These heterogeneity is associated with certain characteristics of the host country’s education system and labour market. Finally, we test whether the expectation of better opportunities for both migrants and their children indeed plays an important role for the migration choice.