Economics of Care

Economics of Care brings together researchers across CIRCLE (the Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities) and the School of Economics at the University of Sheffield who are interested in how care is understood, valued, measured and supported within economic and policy frameworks. It explores the economic implications of care, including both paid care work and unpaid care provided by relatives and friends.

At its core, the theme recognises that care is fundamental to economic and social life, yet many of the things that make care possible — relationships, time, trust, reciprocity and supportive environments — remain difficult to capture within conventional economic frameworks.

Bringing together expertise across economics, social policy and related disciplines, the theme aims to advance theoretical and empirical research on the economics of care, examine inequalities in care, and develop evidence to inform policy and practice.

Why the economics of care matters

The care economy is a fundamental part of the infrastructure that sustains society and supports participation in the wider economy. It encompasses paid and unpaid activities that maintain and support people's wellbeing and everyday lives.

Existing economic research has helped demonstrate the value of paid and unpaid care, its consequences for employment and earnings, and its relationship with gender and other inequalities. However, important questions remain about how care should be conceptualised and measured, particularly when significant dimensions of its value are relational, non-market and difficult to quantify.

Key areas of inquiry

The theme brings together several interconnected strands of research:

• Theorising and valuing care: Exploring how economic frameworks can better conceptualise and measure care, including its relational, non-market and social dimensions, beyond conventional measures of labour input, opportunity cost and individual outcomes.
• Causal analysis of care: Using quantitative and causal research methods to better understand the economic impacts of caring responsibilities, care policies and interventions.
• Inequalities in care: Investigating how inequalities relating to gender, age, ethnicity, religion, disability and social class shape the financial resources, costs and economic outcomes of people who provide and receive care.
• Care and labour markets: Examining the demand for and supply of workers in formal care services, alongside the effects of unpaid caring responsibilities on employment, earnings and labour market participation.
• International comparisons of care systems: Exploring how different policy, institutional, social and economic contexts influence the costs and economic consequences of care for individuals, households and public services.
• Economic geography of care: Investigating how spatial and urban economic processes, including residential patterns, migration and geographical inequalities, shape the demand for and availability of paid and unpaid care.
• Financial implications of care across the lifecourse: Understanding how caring responsibilities affect individuals' earnings, wealth, assets and pension accumulation over time.
• Macroeconomic implications of care: Examining how care-related changes in labour supply, household wealth, housing markets and wider economic activity interact to influence the economy.

The theme complements CIRCLE’s Organising Care, Labour and Employment and Theorising Care themes, with opportunities for collaboration on shared questions about employment, caring relationships and how care is valued.

Research projects and networks

Researchers involved in the theme contribute to a range of funded projects exploring the economic and social dimensions of care, including:

• The ESRC Centre for Care, particularly its Inequalities in Care research group.
• The ADR UK project, The Hidden Cost of Unpaid Care: Evidence on the Care Pay Gap in England.
• The NIHR project An Interactive Cost-Benefit Analysis Framework for Policies to Support Unpaid Care.
• The NHS England project Unpaid Carer Segmentation and Visibility.

Researchers also lead the Quantitative Analysis and Research Network for Care  QAR-Net Care, an international network bringing together quantitative researchers working on care.

About the group

The theme is led by Professor Gwilym Pryce (School of Economics) and Dr Maria Petrillo (School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations).

Get involved

The Economics of Care theme welcomes researchers, students, policymakers, practitioners and organisations interested in developing new understandings of care and its economic and social implications.

If you would like to learn more about the theme, explore opportunities for collaboration or become involved in future activities, please contact Dr Maria Petrillo at m.petrillo@sheffield.ac.uk.