The role of social security for risks and assets in old age

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13725
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 07050:Public economics and labor economics-related
• Research Institution: Daito Bunka University
• Principal Investigator: SUGANO Saki 大東文化大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (70755537)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 高齢者 / 介護保険 / 社会保障制度 / リスク

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this assignment, research was conducted on the role of the social security system and the family with regard to the three risks faced by the elderly: (i) long-term care, (ii) family changes and (iii) natural disasters, from both empirical and institutional perspectives.
Regarding (i) caregiving, I summarized the caregiving policy in the Netherlands, which was the first country in the world to introduce social insurance for caregiving, and co-authored a book on the subject. I also analyzed and compared the situation of family caregiving and its impact on the mental health of family carers, using comparable individual panel data in Japan and Europe. For (ii), I analyzed the impact of receiving an inheritance due to the death of a parent on the consumption and labour of children, and presented the results in two papers. For (iii), the effects of support measures for middle-aged and older victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake were examined and presented in a research paper.

Free Research Field

応用ミクロ経済学、社会保障、経済政策、家族の経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本課題は、高齢期に直面する可能性の高いリスクに対して、社会保障制度の果たす役割と家族への影響を分析した。①介護については、社会保険の導入以後も家族が担う部分が多く、今後介護と仕事の両立を行う人の増加が予想されることから、家族介護の実態とその影響をデータに基づいて明らかにした点に社会的意義がある。②については、平成27年の相続税の基礎控除引き下げと高齢化により、今後、相続税対象者が増加することからも、遺産の受け取りが子どもの労働供給・消費に与える影響の研究蓄積は重要である。③の高齢被災者の生活再建について、その有効な支援策を論じることは、自然災害の頻発する日本において重要な課題である。