In contrast to the healthcare system, which is financed by social insurance, long-term care (LTC) is financed by general taxation
in Austria. The LTC system in Austria is characterised by a strong reliance on family and other informal care. Persons in
need of LTC are supported by a LTC allowance and by the provision of LTC services. While the federal state is responsible
for the former, the nine provinces (Bundesländer) are responsible for the provision of the latter. Most services are provided
by non-profit organisations and by public bodies (e.g., communities). The provinces are obliged by law to provide care services,
but they are largely free to organise them as they see fit, which results in a wide variety of services and conditions across
the provinces. Additional support by the federal state is provided for the employment of live-in carers and to informal carers.
Projections show sharp increases in public spending on long-term care (LTC) services across Europe. However, a purely cost-based
focus on LTC services is economically misleading. Private and public expenditure on LTC services directly and indirectly generates
income in the form of salaries, taxes, and social security contributions. The aim of this paper is to quantify the economic
impact and multipliers of LTC services for Austria. Based on an econometric regional Input-Output model for Austria, we estimate
the direct, indirect, and induced effects of public and private expenditures on value added, employment, taxes, and social
security contributions. According to our results, each euro spent on LTC services is associated with domestic value added
of 1.70 €; 70 cents per euro spent flows into public budgets in the form of taxes and social security contributions. The economic
multipliers of the LTC services are comparatively high due to the high share of wages and salaries in direct expenditure and
the associated high direct value added. Public expenditure on professional care services should therefore not be regarded
merely as a cost factor in the public budget. Rather, this rapidly growing economic sector is also an increasingly important
economic factor in a time of ageing societies. While the model does not provide information on the causal economic effect
of the LTC sector, the findings are still highly important for planners of LTC reforms, as they provide information on the
total value added associated with LTC expenditures and on the total number of jobs that these expenditures sustain.
Zeitschrift für Sozialreform, 2015, 61, (4), S.345-352
Die Beschäftigungsquote ist eine zentrale arbeitsmarktpolitische Zielgröße in der Europäischen Union. Gemessen wird sie im
Rahmen der Europäischen Arbeitskräfteerhebung (AKE), deren Methode eine möglichst hohe Vergleichbarkeit sicherstellen soll.
Der Erwerbsstatus wird jedoch von den Systemen der sozialen Sicherung beeinflusst, deren drei Grundpfeiler die Arbeitslosenversicherung,
die soziale Sicherung im Fall von langfristiger Krankheit oder Erwerbsunfähigkeit und die Alterssicherung sind. Ihnen kommt
gerade am Ende des Erwerbslebens große Bedeutung zu. Dieser Beitrag bewertet qualitativ den Einfluss der sozialen Sicherungssysteme
auf die Erfassung des Erwerbsstatus am Beispiel von vier Ländern: Deutschland, Österreich, Schweden, Niederlande. Es wird
untersucht, welche Elemente der sozialen Sicherungssysteme die Erfassung der Beschäftigten und damit die Beschäftigungsquote
der Älteren tendenziell erhöhen oder verringern und so der Vergleichbarkeit der Daten und den darauf basierenden Beschäftigungszielen
Grenzen setzen. In der Literatur wurde bislang wenig Augenmerk auf die Erfassung der Beschäftigten in der Europäischen Arbeitskräfteerhebung
vor dem Hintergrund unterschiedlicher sozialer Sicherungssysteme gelegt. Der vorliegende Beitrag soll diese Lücke schließen.
