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Valuation of Unpaid Help by Seniors in Canada: An Empirical Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Roberta Robb ,
Margaret Denton ,
Amiram Gafni ,
Anju Joshi ,
Jason Lian ,
Carolyn Rosenthal  and
Donald Willison
Roberta Robb
Affiliation:
Brock University
Margaret Denton
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Amiram Gafni
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Anju Joshi
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Jason Lian
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Carolyn Rosenthal
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Donald Willison
Affiliation:
McMaster University
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Abstract

The demographic shift towards an older population in Canada has led to concerns about the increased share of society's resources required to provide health care, social assistance, public pensions, housing, etc. for this group. Preoccupation with this problem, however, has obscured the fact that seniors actively contribute tosociety in many ways, not the least of which is the provision of substantial amounts of unpaid time contributions of various sorts. Using data from the 1992 General Social Survey on Time Use (cycle 7), this paper estimates the amount and market value (at replacement cost) of unpaid help -both informal help to others and formal help to organizations — of individuals age 55 and over. Travel time in connection with unpaid help is also analysed. We find that participation rates and average hours are higher in the informal help sector relative to the formal sector both by age and by gender. The estimates also show that the market value of these contributions is substantial, and that seniors contribute a disproportionate share of the value of unpaid help contributed by all individuals over the age of 25.

Résumé

Au Canada, le mouvement démographique vers une population vieillissante a soulevé des préoccupations concernant l'accroissement de la part des ressources sociales nécessaires à la prestation des soins de santé, de l'assistance sociale, des pensions de vieillesse, de l'hébergement, etc. pour ce groupe.Toutefois, les préoccupations liées à ce problèmes nous font souvent oublier que les personnes âgées contribuent de plusieurs façons activement à la société, entre autre par leur travail non rémunéré qui n'est pas des moindres. En utilisant les données provenant de l'Enquête sociale générale, cycle 7: emploi du temps de 1992, cet article évalue les coûts et la valeur marchande (au coût de remplacement) de l'aide non rémunérée — tant l'aide informelle à autrui que l'aide formelle aux organisations — d'individus âgées de 55 ans et plus. Le temps de déplacement lié à l'aide non rémunérée est aussi analysé. Nous constatons que les taux de participation et les moyennes d'heures sont plus élevés pour l'aide informelle aux proches que dans le secteur formel, tant pour l'âge que pour le sexe. L'évaluation montre aussi que la valeur marchande de ces contributions est substantielle et que les personnes âgées contribuent de façon disproportionnée à la valeur de l'aide non rémunérée de l'ensemble des individus de plus de vingt-cinq ans.

Keywords

ValuationUnpaid HelpSeniorsCanada.Évaluationtravail non rémunéréaîné(e)sCanada.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , Hiver/Winter 1999 , pp. 430 - 446
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1999

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