The Effects of the Macroeconomy on the Labor Supply and Mortality in Long-term Care Institutions in Japan

The numbers and types of workers in long-term care facilities may affect the quality of care in these facilities. Recent research has demonstrated that the supply of workers in nursing homes changes in response to macroeconomic conditions. Our study examines how staffing rates and mortality in long-term care institutions are affected by unemployment rates using data from public long-term care institutions in Japan. We find that the supply of skilled nursing care workers is sensitive to the macroeconomy and that mortality in long-term care institutions varies with these cyclic variations. These findings imply that cyclic fluctuations in mortality in long-term care institutions depend partially on cyclic fluctuations in the number of skilled nursing care workers.