Economic Value Assessment Of Unpaid Homemaking

‘Homemaking’ refers to unremunerated non-market activities, performed by family members themselves (esp. women), for production of goods and services for self-consumption, which are neither taken into consideration while evaluating Gross Domestic Product (GDP) nor while calculating labour force statistics. While it is usually admitted that such ignorance renders the efforts of calculating ‘actual’ GDP futile, economists point out that the problems of assessing the economic value of homemaking activities, even to the degrees of proximity, are real to be ignored either, notwithstanding benefits of such valuation. In this backdrop, the work surfaces the theoretical debates concerning such valuation, and, economic, practical and theoretical viability of the approaches adopted, in an ultimate effort to highlight the void in economic developments, be they international or specifically pertaining to India, in this field.