Care Economics

Care economics makes the extent and significance of paid and unpaid care work visible and examine care activities in all sectors of the care diamond at the micro-, meso- and macroeconomic levels. At the individual level, it examines the care needs of care receivers, but also of care providers; at the organizational level, it examines the supply and demand of paid care, and at the structural level with the design of (gender)equitable and sustainable care systems. By systematically linking the economy and the unpaid care economy, it is also possible to illustrate the processes of shifting paid and unpaid care work (cf. Knobloch 2010; see also monetarization and demonetarization). In the meantime, a number of approaches to care economics have emerged which differ fundamentally from the orthodox economic approaches (cf. e.g. Folbre 2001; Jochimsen 2003a; Power 2004; Madörin 2006; Knobloch 2013b; see also caring economy and Vorsorgendes Wirtschaften).