Research and Publications - Department of Economics (AS)
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Browsing Research and Publications - Department of Economics (AS) by Subject "CARE"
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Item The long-term effects of cancer survivorship on household assets(BMC, 2020) Pak, Tae-Young; Kim, Hyungsoo; Kim, Kyoung Tae; Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU); University of Kentucky; University of Alabama TuscaloosaBackground Less is known about the impact of cancer on household assets and household financial portfolio during which cancer survivors face higher mortality risk. Economic theory predicts that cancer survivors would deplete their wealth in such a way that meets immediate financial needs for treatment and that hedges the risk of anticipated medical expenses associated with recurrence. Building upon this prediction, we examine long-term changes in household assets in response to cancer diagnosis among middle-aged and elderly Americans (age >= 50). Results Using the 2000-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, we estimated the household fixed effects regression that regresses household assets on time elapsed since cancer diagnosis (<= 2 years, > 2 but <= 4 years, > 4 but <= 6 years, and > 6 but <= 8 years). Regression estimates were adjusted for demographic characteristics, general health condition, employment outcomes, and household economic attributes. Household assets were measured by total net worth as well as the amount of savings held in each asset category. The loss of household assets attributable to cancer was estimated to be $125,832 in 2015 dollars per household with a cancer patient. This change came from statistically significant reductions in investment assets, miscellaneous savings, real estate equity, and business equity, and increases in unsecured debt. We also found 17.2-28.0% increases in cash and cash-equivalent assets from + 2 years since diagnosis through the rest of the study periods. The accumulation of cash was observed for both the well-insured group (multiple coverages) and those with limited insurance (single coverage). Conclusions The results showed evidence of both asset depletion and precautionary accumulation of liquid assets among cancer survivors, which reduces risk exposure of household financial portfolio. Our findings highlighted that household asset is an important source of liquidity to finance cancer care and to absorb the expected expenditure risk associated with cancer recurrence. We also showed that health insurance provides limited coverage of health risks associated with cancer.Item The Social and Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Family Functioning and Well-Being: Where do we go from here?(Springer, 2022) Andrade, Claudia; Gillen, Martie; Molina, Jose Alberto; Wilmarth, Melissa J.; Instituto Politecnico de Coimbra (IPC); University of Florida; University of Zaragoza; University of Alabama TuscaloosaA growing body of research demonstrates that COVID-19 has had a profound impact on family functioning and well-being in a range of countries. The fear and uncertainty of the health risks, in addition to the stress from ensuing restrictions and constraints on everyday life caused major disruptions, impacting the financial, emotional, and physical well-being of adults and children alike. In this report, we summarize the current literature on the impact of COVID-19 disruption to family functioning and economic well-being as a context for this special issue. Our findings indicate that while the pandemic may have caused a reallocation of intra-familial tasks, a large gender disparity remains regarding the proportion of domestic work and childcare. The pandemic disproportionally impacted lower-income families, families from ethnic minority and vulnerable groups, and women. Finally, the financial impacts of the emergence in Spring of 2020 have strained family relationships, although the effects depend to a large extent on quality of the relationships and family well-being before COVID-19. To address the long-term bidirectional effects of the pandemic on family well-being and the well-being of the global economy calls for research that crosses disciplinary divides.