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Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 42 No. S1 2024

Caregiving and Labor Supply: New Evidence from Administrative Data

Nicole Maestas1; Matt Messel2; Yulya Truskinovsky3

1 Harvard University Press · 2 United States Social Security Administration · 3 Wayne State University

Abstract

A significant share of the rapidly growing demand for long-term care is met by family members, many of whom also work, and family caregiving has been shown to affect labor market outcomes. We use survey responses about family caregiving roles linked to administrative earnings records to estimate the employment trajectories of family caregivers over a 25-year period around the reported start of a caregiving episode. These trajectories vary significantly by gender. Relative to a matched comparison group, caregiving precipitates a drop in both earnings and employment for women, while men enter caregiving only after experiencing significant labor supply disruptions.

DOI
10.1086/728810
Volume
42
Issue
S1
Pages
S183-S218
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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