Bulgaria

Background: Care of elderly family members affects the welfare of the elderly and caregivers and has macroeconomic implications. In Eastern Europe, aging populations combined with under-developed care policy increase family care burdens, but the impact of care on labour force participation is understudied in this context. Methods: Using two waves of the Generations and Gender survey, we estimate the impact of care demand on paid employment in Bulgaria.

This paper reviews the work-family policy of Bulgaria before and after the transition. Before the transition the family policy was one of earner–carer where women were given support to combine work-force participation with childcare and men were at least encouraged to help with carework. After the transition women's access to help with carework became so limited that the family policy, by default, became one of dual earner, but with extremely high levels of unemployment.