ABSTRACT
Family life contains an invisible world of hard labour. The value of the labour that takes place inside the household has only now begun to be measured. Any recognition of the economic value of family activities requires a different mindset, one that puts aside the usual concentration on the emotional quality of family relationships. Unpaid work is considered work by modern economists because it is an activity that combines labour with raw materials to produce goods and services with enhanced economic value. The cost of purchasing the services of a housekeeper is the basis for estimating the replacement cost method of valuing unpaid work. Employment has an important effect on the time spent in unpaid work but this effect is stronger for women. The rise in men’s unpaid work on leaving home is, however, made more dramatic only because it is an increase from a very low base.
