The Girly Economics of Care Work: Implications for Economic Statistics

Abstract

Unpaid care is work. Yet, the field of economics struggles to acknowledge and measure its value. In modern home economics, the household is unitary and harmonious, time in the home is leisure, and power dynamics are unimportant. Even with the development of household bargaining models, we ignore unpaid care, writing it off as a chosen preference. This view and interpretation bleeds into official statistics hindering our ability to tackle gender inequality and measure all economic activity. In doing so, our profession does a disservice to public policymakers and vulnerable populations, and risks stifling economic growth and opportunity for all.