Households' Unpaid Work

This report is intended to take stock of the research and development at Statistics Canada to date and presents revised estimates of the value of unpaid work (VUW) for the period from 1961 to 1992. It addresses some key questions. Why measure and value unpaid work and why exclude it from GDP? What counts as unpaid work, whose work counts, and how is it valued? What is the value of unpaid work in Canada and how has it changed over time? What are its relationships with other socio-economic factors? The remainder of the introduction addresses these issues in general terms.