Welfare Reform on the Web (November 2009): Care of the elderly - overseas

Intergenerational help and care in Europe

M. Brandt, K. Haberkern and M. Szydlik

European Sociological Review, vol. 25, 2009, p. 585-601

In Europe, three times as many adult children give elderly parents occasional help in the house or in dealing with the authorities as provide regular physical care. In Northern Europe, extensive social welfare provision by the state has crowded out care provision by adult children while encouraging occasional help. However, in the familial welfare states of Southern Europe, where little professional support is available, provision of care by children is more likely.