Paying family caregivers: evaluating different models

This chapter provides an overview of different models of financial support for informal carers (that is, the kin and close friends) of older people. These models reflect the institutional and cultural traditions of the broader societies and welfare states of which they are a part. The chapter first argues that the issue of paying informal carers needs to be understood from several different policy perspectives. It then outlines four models of providing financial support for informal care, illustrated with examples from specific countries. The different models are evaluated against a series of questions relating to sustainability; the implications for economic well-being and concepts of citizenship that derive from labour market participation; the balance between individual, family, and social rights and responsibilities; and the quality of care. Finally, the chapter argues that, in order to address these wider policy issues, a number of additional measures to paying informal carers of older people are required.