Measuring Non Market Work: Contribution that Matters

National Consultation on Current Employment Strategies and Women‘s Work : ILO/Ministry of Labour/ISST

New Delhi7 July, 2009

Anushree Sinha

National Council of Applied Economic Research

Motivation

• Gender disaggregated data could be used in evaluation of policies that might improve the economic situation of women in particular.

• In incorporating gender in a macro framework the first important area is the aspect of statistical data to capture women’s work participation/activities with greater accuracy than in the past.

• Without gender analysis grounded on data- policy decisions would be based on untested assumptions: high risk on welfare

• Understanding where women are is the first step in understanding women’s contribution to GDP

Background

• It is observed that most of the female work force is involved in informal activities and Non Market Work.

• In India around 96 percent of the female labour force including helpers, are involved in informal activities (unit level data- NSSO 61st Round compared to 91% in the 55th Round).

 Percentage of Informal Worker

Percentage of Formal Worker

Male 91.48 8.52

Female 96.43 3.57

Total 93.13 6.87

Percentage Share of Workers by Sectors

Important to identify all kinds of work so that most work carried out by women is captured. Work needs to be linked to value added and to overall GDP. Market work is linked to value added and GDP through wages.

Non-market work has no visible wages and so it is difficult if not impossible to link such work to GDP. Studies have shown that a large percentage of women are involved in NMW

• Address the concept of opportunity cost in determining value of non-market work. I submit using minimum wages to start with.

• As we need to first think how to make such work visible as scare resources cannot be channelized without visibility.

Percentage Share of Workers by Sectors

Note: Care: in place of ‘Reproduction sector’ as used by feminist economicsSource: Computation using NSSO Round 61 2004-05 data

  Market Work NMW   Total

   

Own Account worker Employer

worked as helper in HH enterprise

worked as regular employee

Worked as casual labour

Total Market Work HH duties

Collection of Fuels etc

Total Non Market Work  

male Agriculture 44.71% 41.16% 29.59% 3.54% 40.18% 33.82% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 27.90%

  Minning & quarrying 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% 1.16% 0.14% 0.21% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.17%

  Agro processing 1.05% 1.44% 0.49% 2.01% 1.70% 1.24% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 1.02%

  other manufacturing 6.23% 8.40% 2.75% 16.62% 4.47% 6.39% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 5.27%

  readymade garments 0.55% 0.78% 0.15% 1.25% 0.14% 0.44% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.36%

  capital goods 0.15% 0.72% 0.05% 1.42% 0.10% 0.30% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.25%

  construction 2.71% 5.32% 0.27% 1.43% 13.13% 4.98% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 4.11%

  other services 26.84% 27.87% 6.31% 42.24% 5.11% 17.78% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 14.67%

  public administration 0.00% 0.06% 0.00% 10.88% 0.07% 1.58% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 1.30%

  Sub Total Male 82.24% 85.76% 39.61% 80.55% 65.05% 66.73% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 55.06%

  Care 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.86% 0.83% 0.84% 0.15%

female Agriculture 10.01% 11.96% 51.60% 0.96% 29.47% 24.47% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 20.19%

  Minning & quarrying 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.06% 0.03% 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.02%

  Agro processing 0.30% 0.16% 0.48% 0.26% 0.90% 0.51% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.42%

  other manufacturing 4.28% 0.67% 4.46% 2.40% 1.40% 3.18% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 2.62%

  readymade garments 0.33% 0.33% 0.19% 0.33% 0.06% 0.22% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.18%

  capital goods 0.01% 0.07% 0.00% 0.12% 0.02% 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.02%

  construction 0.01% 0.00% 0.02% 0.10% 1.98% 0.59% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.49%

  other services 2.82% 1.05% 3.64% 13.77% 1.04% 4.04% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 3.34%

  public administration 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% 1.45% 0.04% 0.22% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.18%

  Sub Total Female 17.76% 14.24% 60.39% 19.45% 34.95% 33.27% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 27.45%

  Care 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 99.14% 99.17% 99.16% 17.34%

  Grand Total Workers 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 82.51%

Non Market Work

• Currently many studies have shown that a large percentage of women are involved in Non Market Work (NMW)

• Such work has not been included in national accounting and the value added generation cycle

• Makes women’s work and contribution invisible

Share of Non Market to Market Work and Value

 

Total workers

Total Non Market workers

Total workers

Total Non Market workers

NMW to Total

     Value Added

Imputed value

Imputed/VA

Male 66.73 1.09 77.66 1.99 0.57

Female 33.27 98.91 22.34 98.01 49.56

Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 18.30

Note: NMW caters to care sector Source NSSO Round 61 2004-05 dataAcknowledgement: Data support by Palash Baruah

Build Concept :Total Activity Accounting

• Build a framework where total activity of a person is quantified

• Classification of different types of activities: both MW and NMW

• Movement from one type to the other is a possibility and should be considered

A Schematic SAM including NMW

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Labour Casual – Female

X Z1

Labour Casual – Male

X Z2

Labour Regular – Female

X Z3

Labour Regular – Male

X Z4

Capital Owner X Z5

NMWP-FEMALE X Z6

NMWP-MALE X Z7

HOUSEHOLDS X X X X X X X X Z8

Industry sectors X X X X Z9

Care (Household) Sector

X Z10

CAPTAL Accounts 0 Z11

Rest of World X X Z12

TOTAL Z1 Z2 Z3 Z4 Z5 Z6 Z7 Z8 Z9 Z10 Z11 Z12 Z13

Policy Impacts• For example, if policy impact leads to

expansion of an industry• Demand for women workers may rise• Women can choose between NMW and

MW.• Accountability and recognition empowers

women either way• NMW helps governments in saving

welfare funds.• Market Work adds to recognized VA.• Taxing etc can also follow: integration to

mainstream

Concluding Remarks

It has been well recognized that women are mostly involved in the small enterprises and in non-market work, which makes their contribution to the overall economy quite invisible. There is a lack of data on how much work the women are performing both in regular and unregulated in regular sector and in non-market activities Because of the very nature of such work there in no nationwide and systematic recording of such work Such data and accounting would help in understanding the interrelationship women have with different economic actors and GDP.