This point may be crucial for policy purposes. To put this simplistically, if care activities are taking people away from the labour market, policies should focus on providing formal care or promoting employment patterns that are more compatible with care duties. If, on the other hand, it is a lack of job opportunities that is leading people to devote themselves to care activities, the emphasis should be on the employment prospects of the caregivers, not on the market for the provision of care, since these individuals would not be able to change their employment situation even if opportunities were available (Heitmueller, 2007).