Care Markets: The role of care agencies in the commodification of elderly care

Karin Schwiter – University of Zurich – Department of Geography

In Switzerland, the commercialization of home care has been accompanied by the emergence of private care agencies as key drivers of marketization. As intermediaries, these agencies hire care workers – mostly migrant women from Eastern European countries – and sell packaged care services to the elderly and their families. They play a key role in shaping commercialized care markets, the working conditions of home care workers, and the definition of care itself as a marketable good.

This study analyzes their strategies and practices in order to understand the consequences of the current reconfiguration of elderly care for states, households, families, care workers and care recipients.

Project team: Christian Berndt, Huey Shy Chau, Katharina Pelzelmayer, Karin Schwiter

Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation, Sept. 2013 to Sept. 2016

Twitter: @KarinSchwiter