Essays on caring : on childcare policies and on the health of informal caregivers

The objective of this thesis is to provide new evidence on social inequalities in childcare and in eldercare (or care for the ill). For childcare, we analyzed how the use of formal childcare for families from different income groups was affected by public policies. For individuals looking after an elderly or ill person, we consider how caring might lead to differences in the socio-economic characteristics and on the health between individuals. More precisely, we examined how caring for an elderly individual might affect the health of adults aged 25 to 59 years and the risk of mortality of elderly individuals caring for their spouse.(ESP 3) -- UCL, 200