Abstract

Long term care meets similar needs all over the world by using strikingly different means in different contexts. This paper exploits the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) of people aged 50+ firstly, to chart the extent of needs using comparable criteria and, secondly, to see the extent to which these needs are still unmet, but also how they are met in different parts of Europe.

The focus is thus on two key indicators which affect the ways in which social investment in long term care will operate across Europe. The Care Gap, that is, the extent to which the need for care is not met by any kind of provision, neither formal nor informal and the Care Mix, that is, how the overall provision is split into formal care (professional both public and private), informal (unpaid care by family, friends or neighbours) and a mix of both.

Basic findings for the 65+ population are supplemented by an analysis by large age group, gender, and type of household. The ‘stylized facts’ arising from the analysis can explain differences in the nature of social investment, but also in the identity (and the different criteria used) of those undertaking long term care social investment decisions.

Slides