Time Costs and Informal Social Support as Determinants of Differences Between Black and White Families in the Provision of Long-Term Care

This paper presents an economic model that predicts the observed racial difference in the mix of informal home and nursing home services used for long-term care by black versus white families. A cause of this difference in services used is a difference between black and white families in the relative prices they pay for particular services. Each group uses relatively more of the relatively less expensive (for that group) form of long-term care. The model indicates three specific hypotheses. The empirical analysis focuses on the Differential Opportunity Cost of Informal Caregiver Time hypothesis. Based on data from the 1982 and 1984 National Long-Term Care Surveys, two sets of results consistent with though not direct tests of this hypothesis are presented.