TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing the value of household work based on wages demanded on online platforms for substitutes
AU - Jokubauskaitė, Simona
AU - Schneebaum, Alyssa
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - We propose an improved method to assess the economic value of unpaid housework and childcare. Existing literature has typically assigned a minimum, generalist or specialist’s wage, or the performer’s opportunity cost to the hourly value of these activities. Then it was used to calculate macro-level value based on the number of hours spent in this work. In this paper, instead of imputing an average or minimum wage for housework and childcare to determine a value to the work, we use the actual local wage rate requested for these services from providers on online platforms. Applying this method to Austrian Time Use Survey data shows that the value of unpaid childcare and housework, had it been paid, would be equivalent to about 22% of the 2018 GDP.
AB - We propose an improved method to assess the economic value of unpaid housework and childcare. Existing literature has typically assigned a minimum, generalist or specialist’s wage, or the performer’s opportunity cost to the hourly value of these activities. Then it was used to calculate macro-level value based on the number of hours spent in this work. In this paper, instead of imputing an average or minimum wage for housework and childcare to determine a value to the work, we use the actual local wage rate requested for these services from providers on online platforms. Applying this method to Austrian Time Use Survey data shows that the value of unpaid childcare and housework, had it been paid, would be equivalent to about 22% of the 2018 GDP.
U2 - 10.1007/s11150-021-09545-y
DO - 10.1007/s11150-021-09545-y
M3 - Journal article
VL - 2022
JO - Review of Economics of the Household
JF - Review of Economics of the Household
SN - 1569-5239
IS - 20
ER -