Real and potential employment generation by the dependency law: a regional analysis

The implementation of the System of Autonomy and Care for Dependency has led to the creation of thousands of jobs during the period 2008-2015. However, the employment generated has been significantly lower than initially estimated in Libro Blanco de la Dependencia (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, 2005), and territorially it has shown very significant differences. The objective of this article is to offer an explanation to both facts. For that, the gross direct employment generated by the process of implementing the Law for the Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Care for People in Situation of Dependence in each CC.AA. is estimated and it is compared with what could potentially have been achieved by combining two hypothetical situations. First, that there were no benefits recognized and pending of effective provision (situation known as limbo of dependence) and, second, that the cutback introduced by Royal Decree-Law 20/2012 was not applied.

Keywords: Social services; employment generation; Dependency Law; limbo effect; reform effect.

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