Economic crisis and elder care system in Spain

This paper shows how the economic crisis has affected the evolution of Spanish elder care system. In the last 20 years, there have been several structural changes affecting how care is provided within the Spanish Welfare System. First, the increase of elderly population has multiplied the need of long-term care. Second, the dramatic decline of male bread-winner model, from 62% (1990) to 35% (2008), has reduced the women care supply. By the end of the 90´s Spanish State adopted several legislative measures to deal with the new situation. Some (Law To Promote the Reconciliation Between Family and Working Life and Law of Effective Equality Between Men and Women) were introduced with the objective of facilitating the work-life balance and increasing gender equality. Others, as “Law of Dependency” represented an important turning point because it introduced the notion of “care” as part of citizens’ right and as an obligation to provide it for disabled people and old age on the part of the state. This legislative effort has built a mixed care system. In fact, public involvement in the provision of elderly care services has increased after the laws, but family strategies stills the most important ones in the provision of care. Women within the family or hired immigrant women are the main care givers in Spain nowadays. The paper will explain, through secondary data and in-deep interviews exploitation, how the economic crisis has stopped the public involvement in the provision of elderly care system. On the one hand, new legal obligation to provide care on the part of the state is being questioned. On the other, State budget cuts to elderly care programs has revived the traditional relationship between Spanish Welfare System, as secondary caregiver, and family (women), as primary caregiver.