"Care Economy Recognised as Core Driver of Inclusive Economic Growth"
Care Economy
the sector of paid and unpaid activities that sustain human wellbeing, including childcare, eldercare, and disability support.
Unpaid Care Work
household care activities not captured in GDP, performed predominantly by women without monetary compensation.
Economic development frameworks have traditionally measured progress through GDP growth, industrial output, and formal employment. However, this approach systematically excludes a vast category of productive activity: unpaid care work. Care work includes childcare, eldercare, and support for persons with disabilities, tasks performed predominantly by women, outside the formal economy, and therefore invisible in national accounts.
The concept of the care economy refers to both paid and unpaid activities that sustain human wellbeing and social reproduction. Economists and development thinkers, building on the Human Development framework articulated by Mahbub-ul-Haq and Amartya Sen, have long argued that development must enlarge people's choices and freedoms, not merely expand GDP. Yet policy frameworks have been slow to treat care infrastructure as economic infrastructure on par with roads, ports, or power grids.
In India, the Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) remains among the lowest in Asia. One structural reason is the absence of affordable, quality care services. When families cannot access childcare or eldercare, women typically exit paid employment. This represents a direct loss of productive capacity, tax revenue, and human capital, costs that fall on the entire economy, not just individual households.
The care economy operates through two interconnected channels. First, it enables labour supply: when care infrastructure exists, women and other primary caregivers can participate in paid employment. Second, it generates direct employment: care workers, nurses, childcare providers, home-care aides, disability-support workers, are themselves part of the formal workforce.
Across developing Asia, the commercial care ecosystem is underdeveloped. Childcare centres, eldercare providers, home-care services, and assisted-living facilities exist but remain small, fragmented, and often informal. Three structural barriers constrain growth. Finance is the first: care enterprises are perceived as difficult to scale, with uncertain revenue models, especially where households have limited paying capacity. Regulation is the second: care sits at the intersection of health, education, labour, and social protection, creating complex licensing requirements and inconsistent standards. …
Is inclusive growth possible under market economy? State the significance of financial inclusion in achieving economic growth in India.
It is argued that the strategy of inclusive growth is intended to meet the objectives of inclusiveness and sustainability together. Comment on this statement.
Increase in absolute and per capita real GNP do not connote a higher level of economic development, if
Consider the following statements regarding the 'care economy':
1.Unpaid care work is included in the calculation of a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
2.The care economy encompasses childcare, eldercare, disability support, and related paid and unpaid activities.
3.Women perform a disproportionately large share of unpaid care work globally.
4.Investment in care infrastructure can increase female labour force participation.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Which of the following correctly identifies the three structural barriers to the development of a formal care economy in developing Asia?
Consider the following pairs:
Care Economy Concept — Description
1.Blended finance — Combining public, philanthropic, and commercial capital to reduce investment risk
2.Social infrastructure — Physical assets such as roads, ports, and power grids
3.Unpaid care work — Household care activities excluded from GDP measurement
4.Female Labour Force Participation Rate — Share of working-age women in paid employment or actively seeking it
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
With reference to the care economy and inclusive growth, consider the following statements:
Statement I: Pure commercialisation of care services is sufficient to ensure equitable access for all income groups.
Statement II: A mixed ecosystem involving government, private enterprise, and philanthropic capital is necessary to build an inclusive care economy.
Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Want the full note, Prelims Facts & MCQ answers?
Create a free account — takes less than a minute.
Create free account