The Economics of Care
Redefining Value in Social Systems
The global economy depends on invisible labor. Every child cared for, every elder supported, every meal prepared, every emotional burden carried—these are the foundations upon which productivity rests. Yet our economic systems treat care as cost, not capital.
Caregiving—whether for family, employees, or communities—is classified as "non-productive" work. It doesn't contribute to GDP. It's not billable. It's not measured in quarterly reports. But without it, the entire economy collapses.
The Problem: Care as Externality
Traditional economics treats care work as an externality—something that happens outside the "real" economy. When a mother leaves her job to care for a child, GDP decreases. When a son takes leave to support an aging parent, productivity drops. The system sees loss, not value creation.
This framework is fundamentally broken. Care isn't external to the economy—it is the economy's foundation. You can't have productive workers without someone caring for their children. You can't have healthy teams without emotional support structures. You can't have sustainable communities without networks of mutual aid.
By treating care as cost rather than infrastructure, we've created systems that penalize empathy, discourage human connection, and destabilize the very foundations they depend on.
Reframing Care: From Cost to Capital
At KombraVillage, we approach care as measurable economic infrastructure—essential, valuable, and worthy of investment.
This reframing requires three shifts:
Measurement: We must develop metrics that capture care's economic value. Not just time spent, but outcomes enabled. A caregiver who coordinates medical appointments, manages medications, and provides emotional support doesn't just "help" an elder—they prevent hospital readmissions, reduce emergency interventions, and maintain quality of life. These are measurable, cost-saving outcomes.
Investment: If care is infrastructure, it deserves infrastructure-level investment. This means designing policies, technologies, and workplaces that support caregiving rather than penalize it. Flexible work arrangements. Subsidized care networks. Technology that reduces coordination burden without replacing human connection.
Compensation: Care work should be recognized economically. This doesn't mean commodifying love—it means acknowledging that care requires time, skill, and emotional labor that have real economic value. Universal basic income for caregivers. Tax credits for family care. Professional pathways for care workers that offer dignity and fair wages.
Policy Example: The Care Standard
Imagine if we measured economic health not just by GDP, but by a "Care Standard"—a metric tracking:
- Average hours of unpaid care work per household
- Caregiver burnout rates and mental health outcomes
- Time-to-coordinate for family care networks
- Workplace flexibility indices
- Community support network density
These metrics would reveal what GDP hides: whether our systems are sustainable, whether our people are supported, whether our economy truly works for human flourishing.
Countries scoring high on the Care Standard would attract talent, reduce healthcare costs, and maintain healthier, more productive populations. Care becomes competitive advantage, not overhead.
Designing Workplace Structures That Honor Care
The future of work must integrate care as a core organizational value, not an accommodation. This means:
Asynchronous by Default: Not everyone can be "on" from 9-5. Caregivers need flexibility to respond to emergencies, attend appointments, or simply be present during difficult moments. Async-first work cultures measure output and impact, not hours logged.
Care Credits: Instead of treating parental leave or caregiver support as exceptions, organizations should build care into compensation structures. "Care credits" that employees can use for any caregiving responsibility—children, elders, community support, even self-care.
Integrated Support Systems: Technology should reduce coordination burden. Scheduling tools that integrate medical appointments with work calendars. AI assistants that help manage care networks. Platforms that connect families with vetted resources. These aren't luxuries—they're infrastructure.
Conclusion: The Next Great Innovation Is Care, Measured and Scaled
We've spent centuries building systems that extract value from labor. The next era requires systems that sustain the humans doing that labor.
Care isn't soft. It's not peripheral. It's the infrastructure that keeps everything else functioning. When we recognize this—when we measure it, invest in it, and design around it—we unlock a new model of economic sustainability.
The most competitive economies of the future won't be those that work people the hardest. They'll be those that care for people the best.