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GDP and the value of family caretaking: how much does Europe care?

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  • Gianna C. Giannelli
  • Lucia Mangiavacchi
  • Luca Piccoli

Abstract

This study estimates the size and value of unpaid family caretaking activities at a European level. While at a country level several studies are available, a comprehensive evaluation for Europe as a whole was missing so far, mainly due to data limitations. This article fills this gap using a method that merges the information of the European Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) with the Harmonised European Time Use Surveys (HETUS). Monetary values of unpaid family domestic work and unpaid family childcare work are obtained applying both the opportunity cost and the market replacement approaches. For Europe as a whole, the total value of these activities ranges between 17% and 31.6% of the EU Gross Domestic Product (GDP), depending on the applied methodology. The national values of these activities are discussed and an interpretation of the country and gender differentials in family caretaking costs is given in terms of differences in culture, economic development and welfare state.

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  • Gianna C. Giannelli & Lucia Mangiavacchi & Luca Piccoli, 2012. "GDP and the value of family caretaking: how much does Europe care?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(16), pages 2111-2131, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:44:y:2012:i:16:p:2111-2131
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2011.558485
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    Cited by:

    1. de la Croix, David & Pierrard, Olivier & Sneessens, Henri R., 2013. "Aging and pensions in general equilibrium: Labor market imperfections matter," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 104-124.
    2. Noh‐Sun Kwark & Eunseong Ma, 2021. "Entrepreneurship And Income Distribution Dynamics: Why Is The Income Share Of Top Income Earners Acyclical Over The Business Cycle?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(1), pages 321-356, February.
    3. Stephanie Carretero & James Stewart & Clara Centeno & Francesco Barbabella & Andrea Schmidt & Frederique Lamontagne-Godwin & Giovanni Lamura, 2012. "Can technology based services support long-term care challenges in home care? Analysis of evidence from social innovation good practices across the EU CARICT Project Summary Report," JRC Research Reports JRC77709, Joint Research Centre.
    4. Giannelli, Gianna Claudia & Mangiavacchi, Lucia & Piccoli, Luca, 2013. "Do Parents Drink Their Children's Welfare? A Joint Analysis of Intra-Household Allocation of Time," IZA Discussion Papers 7246, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Luca Piccoli, 2023. "Female poverty and intrahousehold inequality in transition economies," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 353-353, February.
    6. Luca Marchiori & Olivier Pierrard, 2012. "LOLA 2.0: Luxembourg OverLapping generation model for policy Analysis," BCL working papers 76, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    7. Hippolyte d'Albis & Julien Navaux & Jacques Pelletan & Francois Charles Wolff, 2019. "Economic growth and household production in France (1985-2010) [Croissance économique et production domestique en France (1985-2010)]," Working Papers halshs-02355123, HAL.
    8. Lucia Mangiavacchi & Chiara Rapallini, 2014. "Self-Reported Economic Condition And Home Production: Intra-Household Allocation In Italy," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(3), pages 279-304, July.
    9. Bosch, Maria José & Heras, Mireia Las & Russo, Marcello & Rofcanin, Yasin & Grau i Grau, Marc, 2018. "How context matters: The relationship between family supportive supervisor behaviours and motivation to work moderated by gender inequality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 46-55.
    10. Shoshana Grossbard & Sankar Mukhopadhyay, 2013. "Children, spousal love, and happiness: an economic analysis," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 447-467, September.
    11. Ana Seme & Lili Vargha & Tanja Istenic & Joze Sambt, 2019. "Historical patterns of unpaid work in Europe: NTTA results by age and gender," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 17(1), pages 121-140.
    12. Lili Vargha & Róbert Iván Gál & Michelle O. Crosby-Nagy, 2017. "Household production and consumption over the life cycle: National Time Transfer Accounts in 14 European countries," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(32), pages 905-944.
    13. J. Ignacio Giménez-Nadal & Lucia Mangiavacchi & Luca Piccoli, 2016. "Mobility across generations of the gender distribution of housework," DEA Working Papers 80, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Departament d'Economía Aplicada.
    14. Marchiori, Luca & Pierrard, Olivier, 2017. "How does global demand for financial services promote domestic growth in Luxembourg? A dynamic general equilibrium analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 103-123.
    15. Melanie Borah, 2020. "Estimating Extended Income Equivalence Scales from Income Satisfaction and Time Use Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 687-718, June.
    16. de la Croix, David & Pierrard, Olivier & Sneessens, Henri R., 2013. "Aging and pensions in general equilibrium: Labor market imperfections matter," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 104-124.
    17. Paul Hanly & Rebecca Maguire & Myles Balfe & Eleanor O’Sullivan & Linda Sharp, 2017. "Making Implicit Assumptions Explicit in the Costing of Informal Care: The Case of Head and Neck Cancer in Ireland," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 35(5), pages 591-601, May.
    18. Plomien, Ania & Schwartz, G, 2020. "Labour mobility in transnational Europe: between depletion, mitigation and citizenship entitlements harm," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103955, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Paul Hanly & Corina Sheerin, 2017. "Valuing Informal Care in Ireland: Beyond the Traditional Production Boundary," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 48(3), pages 337-364.
    20. Gianna Giannelli & Lucia Mangiavacchi & Luca Piccoli, 2013. "Do parents drink their children’s welfare? Intra-household allocation of time between market labour, domestic work and child care in Russia," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D19 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Other
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

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