Trade-off between formal and informal care in Spain

The remarkable growth of older population has moved long term care to the front ranks of the social policy agenda. Understanding the factors that determine the type and amount of formal care is important for predicting use in the future and developing long-term policy. In this context we jointly analyze the choice of care (formal, informal, both together or none) as well as the number of hours of care received. Given that the number of hours of care is not independent of the type of care received, we estimate, for the first time in this area of research, a sample selection model with the particularity that the first step is a multinomial logit model. With regard to the debate about complementarity or substitutability between formal and informal care, our results indicate that formal care acts as a reinforcement of the family care in certain cases: for very old care receivers, in those cases in which the individual has multiple disabilities, when many care hours are provided, and in case of mental illness and/or dementia. There exist substantial differences in long term care addressed to younger and older dependent people and dependent women are in risk of becoming more vulnerable to the shortage of informal caregivers in the future. Finally, we have documented that there are great disparities in the availability of public social care across regions.Formal care, informal care, caregiver, dependent

¿Es la jubilación un buen momento para aprender informática?

3rd International Conference on the Elderly and New Technologies. III Jornadas Internacionales de Mayores y Nuevas Tecnologías.The aim of this paper is to disentangle the characteristics of older people who know computer science and test if older people consider retirement as a good moment for learning this issue. We use data from the Survey of Living Conditions of Older People (2010) carried out by the imserso to individuals aged 65 and older. Available information allow us to differentiate among three categories of users: (1) those who knew computer science before getting retired, pre-users (6.79%), (2) those who learnt it after retirement, post-users (2.76%) and (3) those who have never expressed interest in it, never-users (90.45%). As compared to never-users, people qualified as pre-users or post-users are to a large extent male, aged 65-69, with high school or college education, income higher than 900 €/month and, they usually combine this activity with others such as tourism, sports and volunteerism. To determine which variables affect the probability of becoming post-user we estimate a bivariate probit model with sample selection. The probability of becoming post-user increases by 151% for those who consider that retirement is “an opportunity for pursuing your particular hobbies” and it increases by 71% for those who report that their main fear for the future is to loose memory. However, living in a municipality with less than 5,000 inhabitants or being a housekeeper during working life decreases this probability. On the other hand, the well suited moment for becoming familiar with computer science is just after retirement because the probability of becoming post-user increases by 245% for the cohort aged 65-59 years.El objetivo de este trabajo es conocer las características de las personas mayores que saben informática y contrastar si las personas mayores consideran que la etapa de la jubilación es un buen momento para aprender dicha materia. Se utilizan datos de la Encuesta de Condiciones de Vida de las Personas Mayores (2010) realizada por el imserso a personas de 65 y más años. La información dispone tres categorías de usuarios: 1) personas que sabían informática antes de la jubilación, usuarios-pre (6,79 %), 2) los que la aprendieron después de la jubilación, usuarios-post (2,76 %) y 3) los que nunca han mostrado interés, no usuarios (90,45 %). En comparación con los no usuarios, los usuarios pre o post suelen ser en mayor medida hombres, de 65-69 años, con estudios secundarios o superiores, con ingresos superiores a 900 €/mes y combinan la informática con otras actividades como turismo, deporte y voluntariado. Para determinar qué variables influyen en la probabilidad de convertirse en un usuario-post se estima un modelo probit bivariante con selección muestral. La probabilidad de ser usuario-post aumenta un 151 % entre los que consideran que la jubilación es «una oportunidad para dedicar su tiempo a lo que quiere» y aumenta un 71 % entre aquellos que declaran que su principal miedo de cara el futuro es el de perder la memoria. En cambio, los que viven en municipios de menos de 5000 habitantes o los que se han dedicado a las labores del hogar demuestran una menor probabilidad de convertirse en usuarios. Por otra parte, el momento idóneo para familiarizarse con la informática es justo después de la jubilación, ya que la probabilidad de ser usuario-post aumenta un 245 % para la cohorte de 65-69 años

Influencia de los programas universitarios para mayores sobre la mejora del rendimiento cognitivo

The aim of this paper is to apply a rigorous econometric approach to analyze the benefits derived from participation in Third Age University Programs (3AUP). Two waves from the SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) corresponding to 2007 and 2011 are used. This survey contains information concerning the degree of satisfaction with life and allows to define indicators for cognitive achievement in memory, vocabulary and fluency. A sample of individuals aged between 50 and 85 years old is selected. The percentage of participants in 3AUP has increased from 3.25 % to 5.47 %, which represents an average growth rate of 13.90 %. For the sample of all respondents we appreciate that: (i) the probability of retaining 10-14 words in the memory test increases by 0.34 points for participants in 3AUP, (ii) the probability of developing a list with at least twenty words increases by 0.45 points for participants in 3AUP, and it attains a maximum of 0.88 point for participants with high school education.El objetivo de este trabajo es aplicar un enfoque econométrico riguroso para analizar los beneficios derivados de la participación en programas universitarios para mayores (PUM) en España. Se utilizan dos olas de la encuesta SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) para 2007 y 2011. Esta encuesta contiene información sobre el nivel de satisfacción general y permite construir indicadores para pruebas cognitivas de memoria. Se selecciona una muestra de personas de entre 50 y 85 años. El porcentaje de participantes ha aumentado del 3,25 % al 5,47 %. Por tanto, en el intervalo de cuatro años la tasa de participación ha crecido a una tasa media anual acumulada del 13,90 %. Para el conjunto de todos los individuos se constata que: i) la probabilidad de recordar entre 10 y 14 palabras en la prueba de memoria aumenta en 0,34 puntos si participa en PUM, y ii) la probabilidad de que la lista confeccionada en la prueba de fluidez contenga 20 o más nombres aumenta en 0,45 puntos, si participa en un PUM, con un máximo de 0,88 puntos de diferencia si tiene estudios secundarios

Perfil sociosanitario de los grupos definidos por el nuevo copago farmacéutico

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la relación entre el número de medicamentos recetados y la capacidad económica del paciente. Debido a la ausencia de una única base de datos que contenga toda la información necesaria, se ha procedido a enlazar la Encuesta Europea de Salud (2009) con la Encuesta de Condiciones de Vida (2010). La primera contiene información sobre estado de salud y consumo de medicamentos recetados, mientras que la segunda proporciona información económica relativa al año 2009, que ha servido como base para construir la base liquidable general y del ahorro. Este indicador es el que se utiliza para clasificar a los individuos en los grupos de copago definidos por el Real Decreto 16/2010, de 20 de abril. Los resultados indican que el grupo de pensionistas con base liquidable inferior a 18.000 euros anuales muestran los mayores porcentajes de consumo de 6-8 medicamentos, mientras que los grupos de pensionistas y de activos con base liquidable superior a 100.000 euros están concentrados en las categorías de 1 o 2 medicamentos. Adicionalmente, el gasto por cuenta del usuario en medicamentos excluidos de receta es significativamente superior entre los pensionistas con base liquidable inferior a 18.000 euros.The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the number of prescribed drugs consumed and patients’ level of income. Due to the absence of a unique database that contained the required variables, we have linked two surveys: the European Health Survey (2009) and the Living Conditions Survey (2010). The first one contains information regarding health status and consumption of prescribed drugs, while the second one provides fiscal economic information for 2009, which is used to compute individual general net tax base. Afterwards, this indicator is used to classify individuals in the corresponding copayment groups established by the Royal Decree 16/2010, 20th April. Main results indicate that the pensioners whose tax base is lower than 18.000 euros/year are the highest consumers for the interval 6-8 prescribed drugs, while the group of pensioners whose tax base is above 100.000 euros/year are mostly concentrated in the categories of 1 or 2 prescribed drugs. Besides that, the expenditure in over-the-counter medicines is substantially higher among pensioners belonging to the lowest tax base interval.España. Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología ECO2011-30323-C03-02España. Secretaría de Estado de Universidades e Investigación ECO2011-2850

Executive Summary of Work Package 3 on Availability and Choice of Care of the ANCIEN Project. ENEPRI Research Report No. 101, February 2012

Work Package 3 on the Availability and Choice of Care of the ANCIEN project aims to document the forces driving the choice of formal and informal care across European countries and to characterise the linkages between the type of care used by dependent people and a country's institutional setting, which determines the supply of formal and informal care. Different issues related to formal and informal care choices and the LTC (long-term care) institutional setting in the EU have been analysed by the WP3 contributors. This research report summarises each partner’s contribution

Teaching experience: Inequalities in prices of drugs to fight against COVID-19

[EN] As the Sars-CoV2 pandemic continues to grow, researchers around the world are urgently seeking new treatments to prevent infection, cure those infected, or lessen the severity of the disease. Although there are several recently approved vaccines, clinical trials are underway to "re-use" drugs normally indicated for other diseases. This teaching experience studies the market for 8 pharmaceutical products used to fight the pandemic (remdesivir, favipiravir, lopinavir/ritonavir, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, sofosbuvir, pyrfenidone and tocilizumab) in 13 countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States). Through the analysis of prices and costs, we reflect on the difficulty of access to treatment according to the country.The objective is to deepen knowledge of the pharmaceutical market: (i) to demonstrate in a tangible way the differences between production costs and final prices of medicines, (ii) to perceive the difficulty of access to certain treatments depending on the country, (iii) to reflect on what initiatives should be implemented in an international emergency context such as the one we are experiencing.Vilaplana Prieto, C. (2021). Teaching experience: Inequalities in prices of drugs to fight against COVID-19. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1219-1227. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.12549OCS1219122

DOES COMPUTER-ASSISTED LEARNING ENHANCE MATHEMATICS PERFORMANCE? EVIDENCE FOR SPAIN

This paper analyses whether the Programme School 2.0 introduced in 2009 has improved the mathematics performance of the students affected by it using data from PISA 2009 and PISA 2012. It does not appear that the extraordinary investment in computer equipment carried out in schools in the study period (2009-2012) has led to improved academic performance. In fact, the number of computers per student in 2012 has a significant and negative effect on Mathematics scores for all students (non-repeaters: -114.17 points, 1-year repeaters: -42.22 points, and 2-year repeaters: -88.56 points, respectively): -88.56 points, respectively). The results of the assessment in Mathematics using computer procedures (CBA module) reveal that participation in School 2.0 has not managed to increase the Mathematics-CBA score (-3.15 points among non-repeating students who use the computer to do homework 1-2 times/week and -48.35 among those who have a computer/tablet at the school). In this sense, the use of school computers should be examined in greater depth. As a positive and encouraging note, the Programme School 20. may have led to the development of other social or even ‘solidarity’ skills, as evidenced by a greater propensity to comment on aspects of the Mathematics subject or to help other classmates and friends with Mathematics

The Spanish Long-term Care System. ENEPRI Research Report No. 88, 15 June 2010

Launched in January 2009, ANCIEN is a research project that runs for a 44-month period and involves 20 partners from EU member states. The project principally concerns the future of long-term care (LTC) for the elderly in Europe and addresses two questions in particular: 1) How will need, demand, supply and use of LTC develop? 2) How do different systems of LTC perform? This case study on Spain is part of the first stage in the project aimed at collecting the basic data and necessary information to portray long-term care in each country of the EU. It will be followed by analysis and projections of future scenarios on long-term care needs, use, quality assurance and system performance. State-of-the-art demographic, epidemiologic and econometric modelling will be used to interpret and project needs, supply and use of long-term care over future time periods for different LTC systems

A sequential model for older workers’ labor transitions after a health shock

In this work we study older workers’ (50—64) labor force transitions after a health/disability shock. We find that the probability of keeping working decreases with both age and severity of the shock. Moreover, we find strong interactions between age and severity in the 50—64 age range and none in the 30–49 age range. Regarding demographics we find that being female and married reduce the probability of keeping work. On the contrary, being main breadwinner, education and skill levels increase it. Interestingly, the effect of some demographics changes its sign when we look at transitions from inactivity to work. This is the case of being married or having a working spouse. Undoubtedly, leisure complementarities should play a role in the latter case. Since the data we use contains a very detailed information on disabilities, we are able to evaluate the marginal effect of each type of disability either in the probability of keeping working or in returning back to work. Some of these results may have strong policy implications.Health shocks, disability, labor force transitions, older workers, Spain