Caring Costs: The Impact of Care Burdens on the Composition of Household Expenditure in Chile

Although previous studies have examined the economic costs of care in terms of reduced earnings and increased direct expenses, less is known about how caregiving responsibilities shape household budget allocation. Drawing on the feminist care-economy framework and the household budget literature, this study uses compositional data analysis and multivariate general linear models to examine nationally representative data from the 2021–2022 Family Budget Survey (EPF) in Chile. Results show that the care burden significantly reshapes spending composition: households with care responsibilities allocate more to basic goods and services and less to postponable or discretionary items, including a marked reduction in recreation, with implications for emotional and social well-being. Education expenditure proves particularly sensitive to the care burden, reflecting both the presence of children and the high costs in Chile’s marketised system. These findings highlight the need for policies combining expanded public provision with targeted financial support to reduce care-related economic pressures.