Impact of increased long-term care insurance payments on employment and wages in formal long-term care

• Published in: Journal of the Japanese and international economies Vol. 53; p. 101034
• Main Author: Kondo, Ayako
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01-09-2019
• Subjects: Care workers; Long-term care insurance; I11; Care workers; Long-term care insurance; J30; J48
• ISSN: 0889-1583; 1095-8681
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jjie.2019.101034

•I use the change in the regional premium in 2012 as an exogenous shock to the insurance fee schedule and examines the effect of raising Long-term care insurance (LTCI) payments on employment and wages of workers in the long-term care (LTC) industry.•I find no increase in the number of employees in the establishments, registered under the LTCI scheme, in municipalities where the regional premium increased.•The monthly earnings and working hours of LTC workers did not increase, either.•Bonus increased with a one-year lag.
This paper examines the effect of raising Long-term care insurance (LTCI) payments on employment and wages of workers in the long-term care (LTC) industry. Specifically, I use the change in the regional premium in 2012 as an exogenous shock to the insurance fee schedule: the change in the unit price of LTCI service ranges from a decrease of 2.8% to an increase of 4.2%. I find no increase in the number of employees in the establishments, registered under the LTCI scheme, in municipalities where the regional premium increased. The earnings and working hours of LTC workers did not increase, either.