Care Provision and the Boundaries of Production

Whether or not they provide subjective satisfaction to providers, unpaid services and non-market transfers typically contribute positively to total output, living standards, and the social climate. This essay describes some quantitative dimensions of care provision and reviews their implications for the measurement of economic growth and the explanation of relative earnings, including the gender wage differential. It also calls attention to under-explored aspects of collective conflict over legal rules and public policies that shape the distribution of the net costs of care provision.