Repositioning care in economics: concepts, measurement, and policy implications

Abstract Care work, encompassing childcare, eldercare, disability care, household maintenance and emotional support, sustains the human capabilities upon which all economic activity depends. Much of this caring labour is unpaid, takes place within households and communities, and is disproportionately undertaken by women. Despite its foundational role in national economies, care has long occupied a marginal position in economic theory, measurement and policy, and remains systematically undervalued and undermeasured. This introductory article distils core insights from the twenty articles that comprise the double issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy on the economics of care, situating them within the existing scholarship. It explains how the neglect of care has created enduring oversights in economic analysis and highlights the conceptual, methodological and empirical innovations brought together in this issue. It examines how unpaid and paid forms of care shape labour supply, productivity, inequality and well-being, and explores how the organization, valuation and distribution of care work generate both disadvantages and privileges across gender, class, race and immigration status. It also addresses the macroeconomic implications of care, including its role in shaping growth, investment and economic resilience, and examines how demographic change, climate shocks and digitalization are reshaping care systems. Taken together, the contributions demonstrate that care should not be treated as a residual concern but as a subject of inquiry at the heart of economic analysis.