ABSTRACT
Policy issues associated with the economics of long-term care (LTC) are increasingly important due to population ageing and consequent increased demand for care. Academic research on the economics of LTC spans many publications. These contributions are mainly, but not exclusively, found within health economics. We relate the market for LTC to the market for healthcare and argue that important differences exist between these research areas. We then use a Scopus search to identify publications relating to the economics of LTC. We use the results to identify the main issues that this body of research addresses and then list the most cited articles within the field. Among the most popular topics are the demand for LTC, the related demand for LTC insurance, and LTC financing. Unpaid care, child–parent interactions, the labor market for LTC workers, and projections of future spending also feature among the most cited pieces of work. We summarize some of the arguments relating to these issues. We conclude by arguing that to provide a clearer overview for researchers and policymakers, a case exists for bringing the literature on the economics of LTC together, either in the form of an entirely new journal, or as a satellite to an existing related outlet, and for researching several additional topics that the existing literature has paid scant attention to.
