The care economy and macroeconomic outcomes: a structuralist approach

Mark Setterfield ()
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Mark Setterfield: Department of Economics, New School for Social Research, USA

No 2603, Working Papers from New School for Social Research, Department of Economics

Abstract: Inspired by feminist macroeconomics, this paper shows how a Marx-Keynes-Schumpeter (MKS) macrodynamic system can be augmented by simple models of the care economy. To this end, an MKS model of steady-state growth and distribution is extended to include: first, a model of unpaid domestic care-giving within the household; and second, a model of household acquisition of marketed care services. It is shown that the care economy affects basic macroeconomic outcomes, such as labour productivity, aggregate demand formation, and the steady-state growth rate. The chief conclusion is that the care economy should be the subject of more routine attention in macroeconomic theory.

Keywords: Care economy; human capacities; wage-led growth; profit-led growth; natural rate of growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B54 E11 E12 J16 J24 O33 O41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2026-02
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