Value Of Unpaid Work Research Articles

Socio-Economic and Administrative Empowerment of Women in Selected Muslim Countries

A stereotypical opinion about the role of Muslim women prevails. Most of the current literature presumes that Muslim women are not as efficient as women in the Western world because of religious, social, and institutional norms. This article assesses this opinion and surveys the literature published on the socio-economic and administrative role of Muslim women in different periods of Islamic history, i.e., the early period of Islam, the medieval ages, and the contemporary period. This study argues that Islam has given proper rights to women and appreciated their role in different socio-economic fields. If Muslim women are not participating in socio-economic and administrative activities, it is due to the culture in which they live but not because of religion. After a review of the published literature on the above subject, this study concludes that in different periods of Islamic history women played a significant role in different dimensions of life. Their role in childcare also has a significant positive impact on the family life of Muslim households. Moreover, in Muslim societies, the value of unpaid work is well recognized.

Philosophical Reflections on the Idea of a Universal Basic Income

AbstractA universal basic income is an unconditional allowance, sufficient to live on, paid in cash to every citizen regardless of income. It has been a Green Party policy for years. But the idea raises many interesting philosophical questions, about fairness, entitlement, desert, stigma and sanctions, the value of unpaid work, the proper ambitions of a good society, and our preconceptions about whether leisure (time for recreation and free creativity) or jobs (working to give the proceeds of our labour and the luxury of free time to someone else) are the thing we should prize above all for free citizens. Coming from the perspective of ancient philosophy, I consider the answers offered in the ancient world to some of these questions, and how we might learn from rethinking our notions of how to create a good society in which people can be free and realise their creative and intellectual potential.

A Feminist Reading of Italy’s North–South Dualism in the Wake of COVID-19

ABSTRACT Italy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to official data by the Italian National Institute of Health (as of July 22, 2020), more than 34,000 patients, mostly elderly men, have died of COVID-19. The majority of these deaths (82 percent) are concentrated in the Northern regions. This study investigates Italy’s North–South dichotomy, exploring differences in social norms and family habits among Italian regions from a feminist perspective. Relying on time-use data, it analyzes whether family roles have protected elderly people from the pandemic in the South as compared to the North. The paper emphasizes the need to recognize the value of care and support unpaid care work performed by elderly people within and across households. Further, the paper argues for the need to consider the changing conditions of eldercare and contributes to the growing debate about its quality in Italy and elsewhere. HIGHLIGHTS Care of and by the elderly has become a new feature of North–South dualism in social norms in Italy. North vs. South response to the pandemic reflects differences in terms of caring spirits. Differences in family structures may explain regional differences in severity of elderly mortality from COVID-19. The need to recognize the value of unpaid work has become urgent in the wake of the pandemic. Attention must be devoted to the intangible aspects of intrahousehold care practices.

Not All Time Is Money: Women’s Burden of Unpaid Work

Since the 1990s, India has been witnessing a downward trend in female labour force participation (FLFP). Feminist economists have argued that the invisible labour of unpaid household work is quintessential for the social reproduction of the labour force. Time-use statistics can be useful for estimating the value of unpaid work and lead policy responses towards increasing FLFP. This study analyses the report on Time Use in India-2019 to draw insights from data on women’s disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and caregiving services. It is argued that this has implications for their participation in the labour market. The patriarchal structure of the family pushes the onus of domestic labour on women. This confines them to home-based, poorly remunerated and informal work, or excludes them from the labour market. Interventions in the form of generating non-agricultural job opportunities in rural areas, establishing infrastructural support mechanisms in workplaces and encouraging female education and employment can not only stimulate FLFP but also help to address the crisis of jobless growth.

Projecting productivity losses for cancer-related mortality 2011 - 2030.

BackgroundWhen individuals stop working due to cancer this represents a loss to society – the loss of productivity. The aim of this analysis was to estimate productivity losses associated with premature mortality from all adult cancers and from the 20 highest mortality adult cancers in Ireland in 2011, and project these losses until 2030.MethodsAn incidence-based method was used to estimate the cost of cancer deaths between 2011 and 2030 using the Human Capital Approach. National data were used for cancer, population and economic inputs. Both paid work and unpaid household activities were included. Sensitivity analyses estimated the impact of assumptions around future cancer mortality rates, retirement ages, value of unpaid work, wage growth and discounting.ResultsThe 233,000 projected deaths from all invasive cancers in Ireland between 2011 and 2030 will result in lost productivity valued at €73 billion; €13 billion in paid work and €60 billion in household activities. These losses represent approximately 1.4 % of Ireland’s GDP annually. The most costly cancers are lung (€14.4 billion), colorectal and breast cancer (€8.3 billion each). However, when viewed as productivity losses per cancer death, testis (€364,000 per death), cervix (€155,000 per death) and brain cancer (€136,000 per death) are most costly because they affect working age individuals. An annual 1 % reduction in mortality reduces productivity losses due to all invasive cancers by €8.5 billion over 20 years.ConclusionsSociety incurs substantial losses in productivity as a result of cancer-related mortality, particularly when household production is included. These estimates provide valuable evidence to inform resource allocation decisions in cancer prevention and control.

Assigning Monetary Values to Unpaid Work in Slovakia

Abstract The article deals with unpaid work in Slovakia. Input-based approaches are used to assign a monetary value to unpaid work activities in Slovakia using the data from 2012 nation – wide survey conducted by the Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University, Slovakia. This nation-wide survey contains representative data about 13 individual unpaid work activities based on Eurostat methodology. In this paper after taking into account the specific conditions of Slovakia, two input-based market replacement cost approaches, namely generalist and specialist are applied to calculate the monetary value of unpaid work. The results show that, depending on the chosen wage concept and activities, the monetary value of unpaid work ranges from approximately 18% to 25% of GDP in Slovakia. The paper concludes that in comparison with the other traditionally market economies the value is lower due to lower level of wages of corresponding market substitutes.

Time Pressed and Time Poor: Unpaid Household Work in Guatemala

This study examines unpaid work in the household in Guatemala using data from a national 2000 household survey (ENCOVI 2000), which included a time-use module. The contribution highlights the importance of unpaid work in Guatemalan households in economic terms and concludes that in 2000, its value was equivalent to approximately 30 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for that year. The value of unpaid work is estimated using an opportunity cost approach applying market wages as well as different measures of replacement costs. The study then explores the nature of time poverty in Guatemala and examines the determinants of being both time and income poor, concluding that women are more likely to experience this condition. The study also finds that investment in small infrastructure and ownership of an electric or gas stove has the potential to reduce time and income poverty in Guatemala, primarily by alleviating women's time burdens and making their unpaid household work more efficient.

Publicly Funded and Family-Friend Care in the Case of Long-Term Illness: The Role of the Spouse

In recent years, considerable attention has been devoted to the value of unpaid work in the economy. One very important aspect of unpaid work is caregiving for chronically ill or disabled people and the question of whether or not family-and-friend caregiving eases the burden on the publicly funded system. Using data from the 1996 General Social Survey, this paper investigates the extent to which the presence of a spouse of a senior aged 55 and over with a long-term illness reduces the amount of publicly funded care received. The findings from the multivariate Tobit analysis show that the presence of the spouse does significantly reduce the amount of publicly funded care used. This result is not gender-specific. The total hours of caregiving by the spouse are valued, as well as the savings generated for the publicly funded system, and the policy issue of tax relief for spouses who are engaged in long-term caregiving is explored.

New Economy, New Equality The need to recognise the value of unpaid work

New Economy, New Equality The need to recognise the value of unpaid work