Redistribution of care? The role of the family, the market and public policy in Catalonia

Abstract

The social organisation of long-term care in Catalonia has been for some years influenced by a changing scenario of public policy, which was intended to de-familiarize care responsibilities, but has instead reinforced its continuity or displacement to the family circles. In the present article we examine the contextual factors, such as the crisis of 2008, the legal framework, the social normativity and the public policies in Catalonia, that have moulded the current situation, in which the business sector has acquired a prominent role, while the family has kept its key historical one. Besides analysing which social institutions assume crucial care work, this article also reflects about the precarious conditions in which this activity occurs.