ABSTRACT
Policymakers are beginning to appreciate the constraints that unpaid care work imposes on both economic development and the empowerment of women in low-income countries. Empirical research on these topics is in its infancy but is already yielding significant results. This chapter contextualises and reviews recent research on unpaid care work in developing countries, with a focus on projects funded through the multi-donor Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) programme. These projects use national time-use survey data, mixed-methods field research including qualitative interviews, and experimental and quasi-experimental methods to compare women’s unpaid care burdens in a variety of developing country contexts, including China, India, Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Vietnam. The chapter begins with a background on the current state of research on the care economy with an emphasis on improving conceptual clarity of definition and measurement. This is followed by a discussion of the most important findings from GrOW-supported research and some complementary research sponsored by other agencies. A final section outlines possible next steps for advancing the care policy agenda.
