Does retirement (really) increase informal caregiving? Quasi-experimental evidence from Australia

Employment-related time poverty, time stress and food away from home behaviour: Panel evidence from Australia

This study examines the link between employment-related time poverty and food away from home (FAFH) behaviour. We use a large representative sample of Australians drawn from five waves of panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Endogeneity biases stemming from reverse causality and omitted variable issues are resolved using fixed effect-instrumental variable approach while other quasi-experimental methods are applied to check for consistency in findings. Overall, we find that employment-related time poverty is associated with an increase in the likelihood of engaging in FAFH behaviour. In specific terms, it is associated with an increase in the likelihood of consuming breakfast, dinner, and supper away from home. Employment-related time poverty is associated with an increase in FAFH tendencies more among females and those located in rural/remote communities. Regarding mealtimes, employment-related time poverty is associated with an increase in the drive towards FAFH behaviour more for lunch, followed by breakfast and dinner respectively. Psychological feeling of time stress is discovered as an important pathway via which time poverty is associated with an increase in FAFH tendencies.

Informal care and financial stress: Longitudinal evidence from Australia

The number of people providing informal care has increased considerably in the last years while, at the same time, about one in four Australians have financial stress problems. This study uses rich longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey to estimate the effect of informal care on financial stress. To establish causality, we exploit a fixed effect-instrumental variable approach to address omitted variable bias and reverse causality problems. Our findings show that informal caregiving increases financial stress between 9.9 and 14.5 percentage points. This finding is robust across a battery of quasi-experimental methods. The effect of informal caregiving on financial stress is more pronounced among males, rural residents and those living in low socioeconomic areas. Our analyses further show that financial fragility and social isolation are important channels through which informal caregiving affects financial stress.