Labour-employment independence and the economic value of unpaid labor; housewives example

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5377/reice.v11i22.17347

Keywords:

unpaid labour, housewife labour, bounded rationality, labouremployment independence, GDP, Turkey

Abstract

In this article, despite the assumption of full employment in economic theories, the labour of housewives who are out of employment but provide unpaid labour while fulfilling the demands of their families is evaluated with the labour-employment independence approach. Using statistics on housewives in Turkey, the impact of unpaid housewives' labour on the economy and social welfare is calculated for selected years.  In the labour-employment independence approach, it is accepted that housewives who fulfil the demands of their families move away from rationality and become "limited rational individuals" (Simon, 1997), their unpaid labour is shaped by the phenomenon of "labour equality" (Kumcu, 2019) and there is a new type of labour defined as "housewife labour" (Kumcu, 2022 b). The fact that housewives' labour, which is thought to have reached a remarkable level with population growth, is a factor of production independent of employment is calculated using the "Model of the effect of housewives' labour on GDP calculations", which allows for normative analysis. The findings show that when the economic value of housewives' labour is taken into consideration, it has an increasing effect on GDP and a decreasing effect on income inequality. It is thought that the study, which shows that labour can be evaluated independently of employment, will contribute to the heterodox theories needed in the solution of economic problems in efforts to ensure social inequality and economic welfare.

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Published

2023-12-13

How to Cite

Yağmur Kumcu, S. . (2023). Labour-employment independence and the economic value of unpaid labor; housewives example. Revista Electrónica De Investigación En Ciencias Económicas, 11(22), 87–111. https://doi.org/10.5377/reice.v11i22.17347

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Research Articles