Available online 20 October 2023, 102831

We assess whether informal care receipt affects the probability of transitioning to a nursing home. Available evidence derives from the US, where nursing home stays are often temporary. Exploiting linked survey and administrative data from the Netherlands, we use the gender mix of children to retrieve exogenous variation in informal care receipt. We find that informal care increases the chance of an admission within a three-year period for individuals with severe functional limitations, and increases the costs incurred on formal home care. For individuals with mild limitations, informal care substantially decreases total care costs, whereas its effect on nursing home admission is unclear. Further, informal care results in lower post-acute care use and hospital care costs, and does not increase mortality. Promoting informal care cannot be expected to systematically result in lower institutionalization rate and care costs, but it may nonetheless induce health benefits for its recipients.

Long-term care

Nursing home care

Informal care

Instrumental variables

Bivariate probit

© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.