What is it about?
Using data from the 2008 China Time Use Survey, this paper examines the gender patterns of time allocation over paid work, unpaid care work, and non-work activity and estimates the monetary value of unpaid care work. The analysis shows that, holding constant individual characteristics and regional effects, the total work time of women is higher than that of men by 7 hours per week in the rural sector and by 10.5 hours per week in the urban sector. Moreover, the value assigned to unpaid care work varies from 25 to 32 percent of China’s GDP, from 52 to 66 percent of final consumption, and from 63 to 80 percent of the gross products of tertiary industry.
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Why is it important?
The present paper applies the original of China's first large-scale time use survey to measure the contribution of women's unpaid care work to the national economy and the costs to women's own well-being. The findings of the analysis provide valuable inputs for the design of gender-sensitive public policies.
Perspectives
I hope this article helps to raise the public awareness of the contribution of unpaid care work to the national economy and the need for acknowledging and supporting the care economy in public policy.
Xiao-yuan Dong
University of Winnipeg
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Gender Patterns and Value of Unpaid Care Work: Findings From China's First Large-Scale Time Use Survey, Review of Income and Wealth, March 2014, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/roiw.12119.
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