Well-being loss in informal care for the elderly people: Empirical study from China national baseline CHARLS.

INTRODUCTION: Well-being is an important component of health, while informal care plays a vital role in daily care of the elderly. However, the effects of informal care on the well-being of the elderly remain unclear. This study was aimed to estimate such effects, in which well-being was measured by 2 subjective indicators: happiness and life satisfaction.

METHODS: Potential endogeneity was purified using instrumental variables. Data were collected from national baseline China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).

RESULTS: Receiving informal care would decrease the elderly's happiness score and life satisfaction score significantly. The health produced from informal care cannot offset the health depreciation caused by aging.

DISCUSSION: To improve the well-being of the elderly, caregivers have more to do and policymakers can design designated care policies based on our results.