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In this seminar, Professor Nancy Folbre of the University of Massachusetts Amherst will outline the history of feminist efforts to assert the economic importance of unpaid work in the U.S. and explain why both paid and unpaid care work remain undervalued in our national income accounts. Rather than simply considering the "inputs" of time and money that go into caring for those who cannot care for themselves, she argues that we should examine the "outputs" of care provision--human capabilities that have both intrinsic and instrumental value that pays off in many ways that cannot be captured by a market metric such as increased future earnings. Drawing parallels between the natural and the social environment, she argues that greater public investments in care provision would benefit us all.

Nancy Folbre is Professor Emerita of Economics and Director of the Program on Gender and Care Work at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Senior Fellow of the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College in the United States. Her research explores the interface between political economy and feminist theory, with a particular emphasis on the value of unpaid care work. 

This virtual seminar is part of WAPPP’s weekly fall series Exploring Work & Family, led by Co-Director Hannah Riley Bowles. Attendance is open to all.