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Privately paid care for older people in Italy: testing the equivalence between macroregions

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Abstract

The rise of a large market for elderly care mainly based on migrant female labour represents a substantial transformation in the Italian elderly care system from being family-based to a mix of family- and market-based solutions. Given the internal differentiation of Italy’s policy framework, socioeconomic structure and institutional features, the article addresses the question of whether this is a sub-national or national phenomenon. After discussing the factors related to the rise of market care in the Italian we turn to the factors that might enhance a national or a sub-national character of the phenomenon. This theoretical discussion leads us to the hypothesis the market shift observed in Italy in recent years is mainly driven by national-based factors and that sub-national variations are unlikely to emerge. An equivalence-test applied to data from a survey conducted on a nationally representative sample supports the hypothesis of the national character of the phenomenon. This approach and the result obtained lead not only to better understanding of the factors playing a role in the development of the care market but also to theoretical developments concerning the emergence of sub-national care and welfare systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Policy and Interventions Studies (SOPINS), Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Barbara Da Roit

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  1. Barbara Da Roit
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Correspondence to Barbara Da Roit.

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Da Roit, B. Privately paid care for older people in Italy: testing the equivalence between macroregions. Qual Quant 48, 577–591 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-012-9788-y

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