Is Childcare Bad for the Mental Health of Grandparents? Evidence from Share

31 Pages Posted: 7 Jul 2016

See all articles by Giorgio Brunello

Giorgio Brunello

University of Padua - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Lorenzo Rocco

University of Padua; University of Toulouse I

Abstract

We estimate the causal effects of regular and occasional grandchild care on the depression of grandmothers and grandfathers, using data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and an instrumental variables strategy which exploits the variation in the timing of interviews across individuals and the fact that childcare declines with the age of grandchildren. We find that 10 additional hours of childcare per month, a 31 percent increase with respect to the sample average, increases the probability of developing depressive symptoms by 3.0 to 3.2 percentage points for grandmothers and by 5.4 to 5.9 percentage points for grandfathers. These results suggest that policies that substitute informal with formal childcare can improve the mental wellbeing of grandparents.

Keywords: childcare, grandparents, depression, Europe

JEL Classification: J13, I12

Suggested Citation

Brunello, Giorgio and Rocco, Lorenzo, Is Childcare Bad for the Mental Health of Grandparents? Evidence from Share. IZA Discussion Paper No. 10022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2803854 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2803854

Giorgio Brunello (Contact Author)

University of Padua - Department of Economics ( email )

via Del Santo 33
35121 Padova
Italy
+39 049 827 4223 (Phone)
+39 049 827 4221 (Fax)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Lorenzo Rocco

University of Padua ( email )

Via 8 Febbraio, 2
Padova, Vicenza 35122
Italy

University of Toulouse I

Place Anatole France
Toulouse Cedex, F-31042
France

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