More than 6 million people are currently involved in the provision of informal care in the UK, with demand expected to rise exponentially over the next decades. The aim of this thesis is twofold. First, to estimate and compare informal care time valuations using a number of methods, and second, to estimate econometrically the determinants of informal care provision. The first aim is addressed using both new and existing secondary data, with comparison of values across opportunity cost, market replacement cost, compensating income variation, contingent valuation and discrete choice experiments methods. The second aim is addressed using existing secondary data, where methods of dynamic panel estimation are employed to assess the influence of various socio-economic and demographic characteristics on the decision to provide care and on the level of provision. This is the first study that estimates and compares informal care time valuations using preference-based techniques for the UK and also it is the first time that the determinants of informal care are assessed using dynamic two-part data models. Findings suggest per hour valuations from £8.5 to £14 for most of the methods with the exception of the choice experiment (with values less than £1). A great deal of heterogeneity can be found in the valuation, especially according to type of care provided. Informal care is found to be a complement and/or a substitute for formal care, depending on the task in question, while at the same time it competes with other time intensive activities for the allocation of time.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:499652 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Mentzakis, Emmanouil |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=25213 |
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