ABSTRACT
This chapter shifts our attention from the wider issues of development, globalization, and labor markets to the debates around paid and unpaid labor. It is centered around what I have called the “accounting for womens work project.” Its central theme is the analysis of how conceptual and theo retical conventions are at the root of statistical biases leading to the under estimation of womens work in labor force and national accounting statistics across countries. Initially viewed as a way of making women’s work more visible, the project has gradually evolved to include all unpaid work, mostly performed by women but also by men, although to a smaller extent. In addition, this project presents an illustration of how the ques tions raised by feminists have a relevance that transcends feminism and challenges basic tenets in conventional economic thinking. Finally it is also a project with domestic and global dimensions.
