Education as a safeguard: the influences of education on informal caregiving on retirees in Europe Open Access

As Europe faces a rapidly ageing population, the demand for informal caregiving has become a central concern for policymakers and researchers alike. With increasing longevity and declining fertility rates, the proportion of retirees requiring assistance with daily activities is growing, placing significant pressure on families and social support systems. Informal caregiving, while essential, can expose both caregivers and care recipients to vulnerabilities, including physical strain, emotional stress and financial insecurity. Understanding the factors that influence who provides care, and under what conditions, is therefore vital for designing effective adult protection policies. This paper examines the impact of education on informal care provision for retirees in Europe using panel data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in seven European countries covering seven waves (2004–2019). To identify the causal impact, we use the compulsory schooling across birth cohorts and countries. Specifically, we use the two-stage least squares (2SLS) approach and use the compulsory schooling as the instrumental variable (IV) for education.

Among these factors, education plays a particularly important role. Education shapes individuals’ health, employment opportunities and social capital, all of which influence caregiving responsibilities and resilience. People with higher levels of education tend to have better health outcomes and higher incomes, enabling them to afford professional care or share responsibilities within formal systems rather than relying solely on family or friends (Cutler and Lleras-Muney, 2006; Quashie et al., 2022). Conversely, those with lower educational attainment often face poorer health and reduced financial resources, which increases their likelihood of both needing and providing unpaid care.

Theoretical perspectives also suggest that education affects how older adults allocate time between work and caregiving. Fischer and Korfhage (2021) argue that when older adults remain in the labour force longer, the pool of potential informal caregivers may shrink. This assumption reflects the idea that education influences labour-market participation and lifestyle choices, thereby shaping the supply of unpaid care. Moreover, research consistently shows that lower educational attainment is associated with poorer health outcomes (OECD, 2019; van Houtven et al., 2019), reinforcing the connection between education, well-being and caregiving capacity:

This study contributes to the literature in two important ways. Firstly, while previous research has examined the association between education and informal caregiving, it has largely focused on the general adult population and provided correlational evidence. This paper advances the discussion by identifying the causal impact of education on informal caregiving specifically among retirees. Concentrating on this subgroup allows us to isolate how educational attainment influences care provision once labour market participation has ceased, offering clearer insights into later-life caregiving behaviour. Secondly, the study enhances existing evidence by incorporating a cross-cultural perspective. By distinguishing between individualistic and collectivist European societies, we explore how cultural norms and welfare structures condition the relationship between education and caregiving. This approach acknowledges that caregiving expectations and adult protection systems vary widely across Europe, and that understanding these contextual differences is essential for effective policy design.

The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2 reviews the relevant literature. Section 3 describes the data and methodology. Section 4 presents and discusses the empirical results, and Section 5 concludes with key implications for policy and future research.

Informal caregiving plays a crucial role in supporting older adults, yet its burden is unevenly distributed. Education has emerged as a key factor influencing who provides care, how much they provide and their access to support systems, making it central to understanding caregiving dynamics and adult protection.

The intersection of education and informal caregiving has gained increasing attention in recent years, particularly in relation to safeguarding older adults and supporting caregivers. Lo et al. (2025) highlight that informal carers often operate without formal recognition or legal protection, which exacerbates their vulnerability and limits access to support services. This issue is compounded when caregiving responsibilities fall disproportionately on individuals with lower educational attainment, who may lack the resources or knowledge to navigate complex care systems. Anka and Penhale (2024) further emphasise that informal carers are frequently overlooked in safeguarding policies, especially when they experience abuse from care recipients. These findings suggest that education not only influences caregiving capacity but also plays a critical role in shaping access to protective mechanisms and formal care alternatives. Yan et al. (2022) underscore the socio-demographic pressures on family carers, pointing to the intersection of education, economic status and caregiving responsibilities as critical factors shaping both the experience and outcomes of informal care.

Beyond its direct effects, education also shapes social and mutual support networks, which are vital for sustaining informal caregiving systems. Highly educated individuals tend to maintain broader and more resourceful social ties, facilitating reciprocal care and access to community or institutional supports (Berkman et al., 2000; Pinquart and Sörensen, 2007). These social networks not only reduce caregiving burden but also function as informal safeguarding mechanisms – a particularly relevant consideration for older adults providing or receiving care in domestic settings (Brandt et al., 2009; Albertini et al., 2023).

Grossman (1972) introduced the foundational human capital model, suggesting that education increases individuals’ efficiency in producing health, thereby reducing dependency on formal or informal caregiving. This perspective is supported by subsequent research emphasising the role of education in enhancing health literacy, better health management and preventive care behaviours (Cutler and Lleras-Muney, 2006). Moreover, higher educational attainment has been linked with greater economic resources and financial security, enabling retirees to outsource caregiving tasks rather than relying exclusively on informal caregiving (Coe et al., 2018). In their analysis using the Health and Retirement Study, they found that individuals with higher education levels were more likely to use professional caregiving services, reflecting a substitution effect between education-driven economic resources and informal caregiving.

Older people, especially those past the usual retirement age, play an important role in providing unpaid care to others (Colombo et al., 2011). Some researchers suggest that if more older adults stay in the workforce, there may be fewer available to give this kind of informal care (Fischer and Korfhage, 2021). This idea assumes that education plays a significant role in informal caregiving because education is the key determinant of type of job and lifestyle.

Additionally, education affects caregiving through employment opportunities and occupational choices that shape retirees’ health status and caregiving needs later in life (Heckman et al., 2018). Retirees with higher education levels typically have lower rates of chronic illness, reduced functional limitations and delayed onset of care needs (Banks and Mazzonna, 2012). This aligns with findings from SHARE data, which illustrate the role of education in promoting healthier ageing and reducing caregiving burdens within families (Schmitz and Westphal, 2017).

The European context provides important nuance to these dynamics. Cross-country studies have shown that the relationship between education and caregiving varies depending on cultural values and welfare regimes (Albertini et al., 2007; Brandt et al., 2009). In Northern and Western Europe, where formal care systems are stronger, higher education tends to reduce reliance on family-based caregiving. In Southern and Central Europe, however, where welfare supports are weaker and familial norms are stronger, educational differences play a smaller role (Sarasa and Billingsley (2008)). This variation underscores the need for cross-country comparative research using harmonised data sets such as SHARE.

Despite the growing body of evidence, causal research on the education–caregiving relationship remains limited. Most prior studies have focused on associations rather than causal identification strategies, leaving open questions about whether education directly affects caregiving behaviours or merely correlates with socio-economic factors. Addressing this gap is critical for understanding how policy interventions – such as education and training programmes – might indirectly influence informal caregiving capacities and adult protection outcomes.

Given these insights, investigating the specific ways education influences caregiving behaviours among retirees across Europe using the SHARE data set provides valuable contributions to existing literature, particularly within the intersection of health economics, labour economics and ageing policy frameworks.

This paper uses data from the SHARE, a comprehensive data set focusing on various aspects of ageing and well-being in Europe (Börsch-Supan et al., 2013). The SHARE data set is a well-rounded and inclusive multidisciplinary data set that encompasses a wide range of European countries. It spans 28 European countries and Israel across 9 waves. The first wave was conducted in 2004–2005, and the latest in 2021–2022. It provides a wide range of perspectives on the experiences and situations of older adults. The database contains a comprehensive collection of information on health, economic conditions, social networks and other important aspects of ageing. In this paper, we use Waves 1 (2004), 2 (2006), 4 (2010), 5 (2013), 6 (2015), 7 (2017) and 8 (2019) to analyse the relationship between education and volunteering participation and frequency among adults aged 50 and over in seven European countries ^[1] (Austria, Sweden, Spain, Italy, France, Denmark and Belgium). Countries and waves not meeting the following criteria were excluded:

• data completeness and comparability across waves for key variables related to education, caregiving and health;

• consistency in compulsory schooling reforms, which is necessary for constructing the IV; and

• representation of both individualistic and collectivist cultural contexts, enabling cross-cultural comparisons consistent with Hofstede’s typology.

To identify the causal effect of education on informal caregiving, we use a 2SLS IV estimation strategy. In the first stage, education is instrumented using country- and cohort-specific compulsory schooling reforms to address potential endogeneity arising from omitted variables such as ability, motivation or family background. In the second stage, the predicted values of education are used to estimate their effect on the probability of providing informal care. All models control for individual-level socio-demographic and health covariates and include country- and wave-fixed effects to account for unobserved heterogeneity. Robust standard errors are clustered at the individual level. Analyses were conducted using Stata 18, and results are presented as marginal effects to aid interpretation.

Education is measured by the total number of years the respondent has spent in formal, full-time schooling, ranging from zero years (indicating no formal education) to 25 years (representing advanced postgraduate qualifications). This variable is derived from self-reported data and has been harmonised across countries to adjust for differences in national education systems.

A range of control variables is used to isolate the effect on caregiving. These include age, age squared, marital status dummies, employment status dummies, household size, number of chronic conditions, wave dummies and country controls. Further details on these variables are provided in Appendix Table A1.

This section provides an overview of the key variables used in the analysis, offering insights into the demographic, educational and health characteristics of the sample.

Table 1 presents summary statistics for the key variables used in the analysis. The sample includes 46.9% males (and 53.1% females). The average years of education among respondents are approximately 10.6, with a standard deviation of 4.65, ranging from 0 to 25 years. Informal caregiving is reported by 8.3% of the sample, indicating that a relatively small proportion of individuals engage in caregiving activities. The mean age of respondents is 67.4 years, with a wide age range from 50 to 105, reflecting the older adult population targeted in the study. Males constitute 46.9% of the sample. Marital status, coded from 1 to 6, has a mean of 1.99, suggesting a diverse distribution across relationship categories. The average number of chronic diseases is 1.72, with some individuals reporting up to 14 conditions, highlighting the health burden within the sample.

We use the following model to examine the relationship between education and caregiving:

$EDit$ refers to the total number of years of formal education of individual i at time t. The $CAit$ refers to informal caregiving for individual i at time t. Control variables ^[2] are denoted by $Cit$⁠, and $σit$ is the error term.

Determining the causal impact of education on informal caregiving is challenging, primarily because of concerns about reverse causality and endogeneity. Individuals with lower levels of education may be more likely to assume caregiving roles, or, conversely, caregiving responsibilities may affect educational attainment or opportunities over the life course. This potential bidirectional relationship complicates efforts to isolate the true effect of education on caregiving outcomes. To address this endogeneity problem, we use the IV approach. This approach is present for the estimates having time-varying covariates.

We use the compulsory schooling laws over time for different European countries as an instrument variable of education. Our hypothesis is that variation in compulsory schooling laws across countries and over time provides an exogenous source of variation in education. These laws were implemented differently across birth cohorts and national contexts, resulting in distinct educational experiences for individuals depending on their year and country of birth. Because individuals in our sample are retired, we consider compulsory schooling laws that would impact individuals in 1960s and 1970s, as shown in Table 2.

For the instrument to be valid, the compulsory schooling variable must be strongly correlated with individuals’ years of education but must not have a direct effect on informal caregiving except through its influence on education. This exclusion restriction is essential for establishing the credibility of the IV approach. We implement a 2SLS estimation, which can be represented by the following equations:

In equation (2), the compulsory schooling (⁠$CSit$⁠) serves as an IV for years of education. In equation (3), $EDit^$ is predicted years of education derived from the first equation estimation of equation (2). Because $EDit^$ is constructed solely from $CSit$ and the control variable $Cit$⁠, it is uncorrelated to unobserved error term $εit$⁠. Consequently, the second-stage regression in equation (3) yields a consistent estimate of β, isolating the causal impact of schooling on caregiving. Standard errors are clustered at the individual level to correct for heteroskedasticity and any serial correlation across the SHARE survey waves.

Table 3 shows the results obtained from ordinary least squared (OLS) and 2SLS estimations.

The second column of Table 3 reports an OLS estimate suggesting a negative association between educational and caregiving. Recognising the potential for endogeneity in this specification, we therefore apply an IV-probit estimator to derive consistent parameter estimates. In the IV-probit model, the first-stage results indicate that compulsory schooling is a robust and statistically significant determinant of educational attainment. The IV coefficient is 0.499, demonstrating the instrument’s strength and reinforcing the credibility of the IV approach.

The second-stage causal impact shows that years of education decreases caregiving for older adults. One additional year of education decreases the likelihood of providing informal caregiving by 0.027 for retirees. Individuals with higher educational attainment are more likely to have stronger labour market attachment and higher lifetime earnings, which in turn increase access to formal care services and reduce reliance on family-based caregiving (Bom et al., 2019).

This section investigates potential heterogeneity in the causal impact of education on informal caregiving. Recognising that caregiving behaviour may vary across demographic, socioeconomic and cultural contexts, we stratify the sample along key dimensions such as gender and regional groupings of European countries.

Examining gender differences in caregiving responsibilities among older adults is essential to understand how education influences caregiving behaviours distinctly for men and women. Gender-specific norms and roles within European societies often dictate caregiving dynamics, suggesting that education might have differential impacts depending on gender. Results for gender differences are shown in Table 4.

The results show the difference for this relationship by gender among retirees in Europe. Each additional year of education reduces caregiving responsibilities by 0.049 for older women, while it is insignificant for older men. These results are consistent with existing literature that emphasises the differential impact of education on caregiving roles by gender. Women typically assume greater caregiving responsibilities, reflecting traditional gender roles within families (Brandt et al., 2009). Higher education levels among females are linked with increased labour market participation, better economic resources and a higher likelihood of substituting informal caregiving with professional caregiving services (Coe et al., 2018). Consequently, education notably reduces caregiving for older women.

Cultural norms significantly shape caregiving behaviours among older adults, influencing the extent to which education affects caregiving roles. In our study, we use the cultural theory of Hofstede (Hofstede, 1984), which divided countries onto two groups: individualistic (Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium) and collectivist cultures (Spain, Italy and France) provide contrasting social frameworks, affecting family responsibilities, social support systems and caregiving expectations. Prior research lack clarity about France’s societal orientation, with some asserting it to be collectivist and others characterising it as individualistic. In our study, we classify it as a collectivist country for many reasons. Firstly, France follows an egalitarian welfare state model that is founded on the ideas of equality, fraternity and solidarity. It has implemented a comprehensive social security system (Nadal, 2005). Moreover, French culture highly values concepts of friendship, brotherhood and social cohesiveness. In addition, France is in the Mediterranean Sea and has a significant population of immigrants, particularly from Africa, where most of African countries considered as collectivist societies.

This section explores how educational attainment interacts with cultural contexts, specifically comparing individualistic and collectivist societies within Europe, to provide a nuanced understanding of the education–caregiving relationship.

Table 5 examines the differential impact of education on informal caregiving across cultural contexts, distinguishing between individualistic and collectivist European countries. The results reveal a significant negative effect of education on caregiving in individualistic societies, where an additional year of education reduces the likelihood of caregiving by 11.4 percentage points. In contrast, the effect is smaller and statistically insignificant in collectivist cultures. In individualistic societies, personal autonomy and independence are prioritised, and caregiving is often viewed as a practical necessity rather than a moral obligation (Anngela-Cole and Hilton, 2009). Higher education in these contexts enhances access to formal care services and reinforces individualistic values, leading to a reduced likelihood of engaging in family-based caregiving. In contrast, collectivist cultures emphasise familial duty and interdependence, where caregiving is deeply rooted in cultural expectations and identity, making education less influential in caregiving decisions (Falzarano et al., 2021).

To ensure the reliability and validity of our main findings, this section presents a series of robustness checks. These tests are designed to assess the sensitivity of our results to alternative model specifications, sample restrictions and variable definitions.

In our main analysis, we measure education using years of schooling. As a robustness check, we alternatively classify education levels based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), which groups individuals into four categories:

1. no education (ISCED 0);

2. low education (ISCED 1–2);

3. medium education (ISCED 3–4); and

4. high education (ISCED 5–6).

This categorical approach allows us to test whether the observed relationship holds across different educational thresholds. The results presented in Table 6 confirm that higher levels of education continue to be associated with a lower likelihood of providing informal caregiving, reinforcing the robustness of our main findings.

As an additional robustness check, we estimate the effect of education on informal caregiving using a 2SLS model. The results, presented in Table 7, confirm the negative and statistically significant relationship between education and caregiving. These findings reinforce the robustness of our main results and suggest that the observed effect is not driven by model specification or endogeneity concerns.

The findings confirm that education significantly reduces the likelihood of providing informal caregiving among retirees, supporting previous European studies that link higher education with greater access to formal care services and lower dependence on family-based care (Quashie et al., 2022; Albertini et al., 2023). Education also enhances social and mutual support networks, which act as informal safeguarding mechanisms that ease caregiving pressures (Berkman et al., 2000; Pinquart and Sörensen, 2007). The stronger negative effect observed among women not only reflects persistent gender roles in caregiving but also shows how education can mitigate these inequalities by improving women’s labour-market opportunities and financial independence. Cultural differences further reveal that education matters more in individualistic societies, where autonomy and formal support are valued, than in collectivist contexts, where caregiving remains a family duty. Overall, these results highlight education’s dual role in strengthening protection systems and reshaping caregiving norms across Europe.

This study has several limitations. Firstly, the analysis focuses on seven European countries because of data comparability and the consistency of compulsory schooling reforms, which may limit the generalisability of the findings to other contexts. Secondly, the IV strategy assumes that compulsory schooling reforms influence informal caregiving only through education; if these reforms also affected broader socio-economic factors, some bias could remain. Thirdly, the caregiving variable relies on self-reported information, which may be subject to recall or reporting errors. Fourthly, although the models control for key demographic and health characteristics, unobserved factors such as personality traits or family relationships may still affect both education and caregiving behaviour. Finally, we did not report separate analyses for each country because disaggregating the sample weakens the IVs and reduces statistical power; future research will explore country-level heterogeneity using larger samples or multilevel IV methods.

This study estimates the causal impact of education on informal caregiving for retirees in seven European countries, highlighting education’s role in safeguarding older adults and caregivers. The findings show that education reduces caregiving responsibilities, particularly among women and in individualistic societies, suggesting that educational attainment can serve as a protective factor against caregiving stress and dependency.

Our estimation shows that education reduces informal caregiving among retirees. The heterogeneity analysis results show that the causal impact of education on informal caregiving is negative and significant for women, while it is insignificant for men. Additionally, the cultural analysis results show that the effect is negative and significant in individualistic countries, but insignificant in collectivistic countries.

These results have important implications for adult protection and social care policy. In contexts where formal care systems are prevalent, expanding access to education may reduce reliance on informal caregiving and alleviate caregiver burden. In collectivist societies, where caregiving is a cultural norm, targeted support for caregivers – such as financial assistance, respite care and safeguarding interventions – should complement educational strategies.

Policymakers should consider integrating education into long-term care planning and safeguarding frameworks to protect both care recipients and caregivers. By recognising education as a determinant of caregiving capacity and vulnerability, this study offers a foundation for designing inclusive and protective care systems for ageing populations.

These findings contribute to the broader literature on ageing, education and social care by emphasising the long-term behavioural implications of educational attainment. They also underscore the importance of considering cultural and institutional factors when designing policies aimed at supporting caregivers or promoting formal care alternatives. While education may reduce caregiving burdens in some contexts, it is not a universal solution, particularly in societies where caregiving is a normative expectation.

As education appears to reduce the likelihood of informal caregiving, particularly among retirees, governments should consider how educational attainment influences care provision in older populations. In individualistic societies, where formal care systems are more prevalent, expanding access to education may indirectly reduce the burden on family caregivers and increase reliance on professional care services. This highlights the need for integrated policies that align educational investments with long-term care planning. Additionally, in collectivist cultures where caregiving remains a strong social norm, policies should focus on supporting caregivers through financial assistance, respite care and flexible work arrangements, rather than assuming education alone will shift caregiving behaviour.

While this study offers empirical insights into the causal relationship between education and informal caregiving, its implications extend beyond academic discourse. The findings suggest that educational attainment can serve as a strategic lever in designing safeguarding interventions that reduce caregiver burden and enhance access to formal care. For practitioners and policymakers, this means integrating education into adult protection frameworks not only as a long-term preventative measure but also as a tool to identify at-risk caregivers and tailor support services accordingly. By bridging empirical evidence with practical application, this research contributes to more responsive and inclusive safeguarding strategies.

This reaseach did not receive any specific fund.