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In countries such as Mexico without formal public long-term care policies, informal care becomes the main source of support for older adults. Alternative social programs, such as supplemental income programs, for older adults could alleviate caregiver burden, especially if supplemental income were to be used for paid care or to compensate non-paid family caregivers. This work is the first to analyze the effects of a supplemental income program for older adults on primary caregiver burden. To identify how such a program might affect caregiver burden, we analyze rich panel data on 433 adults 70 years and older in two communities, one receiving a supplemental income program and the other not, in Yucatan, Mexico. Data were collected in 2008 and 2009 among treatment and control groups before and six months after program introduction. We employ a difference-in-differences approach. In our sample, most care is provided by non-paid female caregivers. We find that individuals in both the treatment and control groups received fewer hours of care over time. The decrease was lower for older adults who received the supplemental income, but the difference with those who did not was not statistically significant. We also observe few changes on caregiving burden; even after program introduction, more than 98 percent of caregivers remained unpaid and the same primary caregiver remained. Altogether, our work suggests supplemental income programs have negligible effects on caregiving, making evident the urgent need for other strategies to support non-paid caregivers who bear most of the burden for old-age care in Mexico.

In this study, we analyze factors that determine the likelihood of an individual undertaking caregiving responsibilities as well as the time spent providing assistance. We utilize a large sample of older adults (N = 2821) from a survey with rich information at the child and household member level (N = 16,014) in the State of Yucatan, Mexico. We define caregivers as those that provide assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) to an older adult—both those living inside and outside the household—and non-caregivers as any person living in the household as well as children living outside that do not provide care. The Heckman two-step procedure is employed to account for sample selection bias in the analysis. We find that 77.7% of caregivers were women and 22.3% were men. In addition, daughters were most likely to take on the role as caregiver. A larger proportion of men in comparison to women worked while providing care, and women provided more hours of care work per month on average than men. We find that caregivers have lower educational attainment, a lower proportion worked, and a higher proportion lived with the older adult in comparison to non-caregivers. Also, non-caregivers provide a higher amount of monetary and in-kind transfers to older adults on average. The oldest adults—80 years and older—and those with the worst health status are more likely to receive care and received higher amounts of caregiving time. Moreover, older women are more likely to receive care than older men. Taking up caregiving activities reflects a two-way decision-making process consisting of older adult needs and caregiver characteristics influenced by societal and economic structures. Taking into account the increasing needs for older adult caregiving in Mexico due to changes in life expectancy and family composition, this model of informal caregiving is unsustainable and requires intervention.