The Missing Link: Uncovering the Effects of Informal Caregiving on Children’s and Young Adults’ Educational Trajectories

• In Event: Mentorship and Peer Effects in Education

Abstract

Informal caregiving within families, often shouldered by women, has been widely studied for its impact on labor market outcomes. However, little is known about its consequences for younger family members, particularly in countries where formal care systems are limited. In Latin America, time-use data reveal that girls and young women devote significantly more time to informal caregiving than their male peers, yet the educational consequences of this responsibility remain largely unexplored.

This study seeks to fill that gap by examining the impact of informal caregiving on the educational trajectories of children and young adults in Chile. We aim to estimate the effects of caregiving-related health shocks within families on outcomes such as school attendance, academic performance, high school completion, college enrollment, and choice of field of study. We will assess gender-differentiated effects and explore long-term implications for labor market outcomes.

Leveraging unique administrative data from Chile—including hospitalization records, school and college data, labor outcomes, and social welfare participation—we identify caregiving needs using quasi-random variation in severe health shocks (e.g., cancer, stroke) experienced by adult household members. These shocks are known to increase caregiving demands and are plausibly exogenous to children’s educational paths. Our identification strategy relies on recent advances in dynamic difference-in-differences models and robustness checks using medical and social registries.

Preliminary results suggest that a parental health shock—defined as the first hospitalization with a cancer diagnosis—leads to a significant decline in school attendance, increases the likelihood of school dropout, and reduces academic performance. These early findings support the hypothesis that caregiving responsibilities triggered by such shocks interfere with human capital accumulation during critical educational stages.

The study is innovative in two dimensions. First, it extends the literature on caregiving by focusing on youth and educational outcomes rather than on adult labor market consequences alone. Second, it informs policies on intergenerational care and human capital accumulation by identifying how caregiving responsibilities—often invisible and unequally distributed—shape long-term opportunities for young people.

Although focused on Chile, this research offers important insights for other contexts, including the United States. The U.S. faces similar demographic shifts and an increasing reliance on unpaid family care, particularly among minority and low-income populations. Recent evidence has shown that adolescent caregiving is associated with academic disruptions, yet comprehensive administrative data to study this phenomenon remains scarce. By showcasing the use of rich longitudinal data and rigorous identification strategies, our study offers a replicable framework for U.S.-based research and underscores the importance of integrating caregiving considerations into education and social policy design.

Our findings will support the development of targeted policies within emerging Integrated Care Delivery Systems (ICS), helping mitigate the adverse impacts of caregiving on youth while promoting gender equity. Ultimately, we aim to provide rigorous, policy-relevant evidence that can inform the design of care systems which are inclusive, sustainable, and sensitive to the needs of all family members—especially the youngest ones.

Author

• Nicolas Libuy, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez
  Presenting Author