Use of Time and Value of Unpaid Family Care Work: A Comparison between Italy and Poland

Francesca Francavilla (), Gianna Claudia Giannelli (), Gabriela Grotkowska () and Mieczyslaw Socha ()
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Mieczyslaw Socha: Warsaw University

No 5771, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This study provides a comparison of the size and value of unpaid family care work in two European member States, Italy and Poland. Using the Italian and Polish time use surveys, both the opportunity cost and the market replacement approaches are employed to separately estimate the value of family childcare and care of the elderly. The results show that, overall, in Italy the number of people performing family care work is higher, also due to the larger population. Italians participate somewhat less than Poles in child care, but substantially more in care of the elderly because of demographic factors. However, the huge difference in the value of unpaid family care work, which in Italy exceeds the value of Poland by about eight times, is largely to be attributed to the discrepancy in hourly earnings, average earnings of Poles being about one fifth of those of Italians. In GDP terms, instead, the value of unpaid family care work is more similar, ranging between 3.7 and 4.4 per cent of the Polish GDP and 4.1 and 5 per cent of the Italian GDP, depending on the estimation approach. The national values of these activities are discussed and an interpretation of the country differentials in the family care-taking gender gaps is given in terms of differences in culture, economic development and institutions.

Keywords: Italy; Poland; adult care; care of the elderly; child care; time use; unpaid work; satellite accounts (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E01 E26 J13 J14 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2011-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hea, nep-hme and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - published as 'Dressing a ghost: size and value of unpaid family care' in: Applied Economics, 2019, 51 (28), 3015-3030 (authored by Francesca Francavilla and Gianna Gludia Giannelli)

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Working Paper: Use of Time and Value of Unpaid Family Care Work: a Comparison between Italy and Poland (2011)
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