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. 2015 Jun;50(3):871-82.
doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12238. Epub 2014 Oct 7.

The opportunity costs of informal elder-care in the United States: new estimates from the American Time Use Survey

Amalavoyal V Chari  1 , John Engberg  2 , Kristin N Ray  3 , Ateev Mehrotra  4
Affiliations

The opportunity costs of informal elder-care in the United States: new estimates from the American Time Use Survey

Amalavoyal V Chari et al. Health Serv Res. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: To provide nationally representative estimates of the opportunity costs of informal elder-care in the United States.

Data sources: Data from the 2011 and 2012 American Time Use Survey.

Study design: Wage is used as the measure of an individual's value of time (opportunity cost), with wages being imputed for nonworking individuals using a selection-corrected regression methodology.

Principal findings: The total opportunity costs of informal elder-care amount to $522 billion annually, while the costs of replacing this care by unskilled and skilled paid care are $221 billion and $642 billion, respectively.

Conclusions: Informal caregiving remains a significant phenomenon in the United States with a high opportunity cost, although it remains more economical (in the aggregate) than skilled paid care.

Keywords: Informal caregiving; elder-care; opportunity cost.

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References

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