Cohen expresses concern over the impact of millennial caregiving on economic outcomes
While the typical caregiver for the elderly is still a middle-aged woman, an estimated 9.5 million millennials now provide care to parents or grandparents, according to recent reports by the National Alliance of Caregiving and AARP. Millennial caregivers, typically 27 years of age, have equal likelihood of being male or female, and live with or in close proximity to the people they care for.
Viewing this trend from an economic perspective, faculty associate Philip Cohen has expressed concern over the trade-off between hours spent caregiving and the need for accumulating education, savings, and work experience during the 20’s and 30’s. He adds that countries like China and India, with weak systems of social security, may lose productivity if young people are systematically engaged in elderly care work at the cost of their future economic well-being. While millennials are more willing to provide care than those in older age groups, according to a recent Pew survey, it may be pertinent to investigate how millennial caregiving behavior affects their own life chances, and the economy at large.