ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Health Economics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1606448
This article is part of the Research TopicChallenges and Innovations in Healthcare Management and Long-Term Care for an Aging SocietyView all 10 articles
From Caregiving Burden to Income Transformation: Intergenerational Employment Effects of Long-Term Care Insurance
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
- 2Jining Shiqiao Middle School, Jining, China
- 3Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
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Background: Long-term care insurance (LTCI) has been introduced in China to address the challenges posed by an aging population. This study examines its impact on the income of elderly households, using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2020. The analysis further explores heterogeneity and implications for income inequality.Methods: A Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach is employed, with 12 pilot cities as the treatment group and non-pilot cities as the control group. The analysis is based on 33,435 valid observations of individuals aged 60 and above. The main outcome variable is per capita household income, which has been deflated to 2011 constant prices using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Demographic and regional characteristics are controlled for robustness.Results: LTCI significantly increases the income of elderly households, particularly in multi-child families and among younger elderly (under 75). Its impact is weaker in single-child households and for those aged 75 and above. Additionally, LTCI contributes to reducing income inequality by enhancing income distribution among low-income elderly households.Discussion: The findings highlight the role of LTCI in improving economic security and narrowing income disparities among elderly households. To enhance its effectiveness, policy adjustments should account for family structure and age composition. These insights provide empirical support for optimizing LTCI to foster a more inclusive social security system.
Keywords: long-term care insurance, Older household income, Employment promotion, Income inequality, Difference-in-differences
Received: 08 Apr 2025; Accepted: 26 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Zheng and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zhiying Li, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
Hong Xu, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, 250014, Shandong Province, China
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