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Feminist Political Economy

Paper Session

Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM (PST)

The Marker Union Square San Francisco, Astor
Hosted By: Union for Radical Political Economics & International Association for Feminist Economics
  • Chair: Anamika Sen, Bates College

Reframing the Domestic Labor Debate: Marx’s ‘Costs of Consumption’ and the Reproduction of Labor Power

Chenxi Gao
,
Hitotsubashi University
Bai Mingze
,
University of Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper introduces Marx’s concept of ‘costs of consumption’ (consumption costs) to the domestic labor debate, offering a new theoretical framework for analyzing the role of domestic labor and consumption services in the reproduction of labor power. We contend that the two prevailing formulations on the value of labor power (VLP) - the ‘value formulation’ and the ‘labor time formulation’ - are insufficient in capturing the complexities of the consumption process and the relationship between domestic labor, consumption services, and the reproduction of labor power. By systematically revisiting Marx’s narratives on the consumption process, we highlight the significant role of labor providing consumption costs and demonstrate that the socialization of consumption costs, when domestic labor is replaced by market-based services, benefits both specific capital in the consumption process and capital in general. This paper urges a critical re-evaluation of the domestic labor debate, stressing the limitations of treating domestic labor as production and the crucial importance of engaging with Marx’s theory on consumption process. By shifting the focus to the consumption process and the role of consumption costs, we aim to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the reproduction of labor power and the economic relations that shape it.

Exploring Regional Disparities in Childcare Availability Across the U.S.

Yazgi Genc
,
Ithaca College

Abstract

Understanding what makes childcare more accessible in one local community versus another plays a vital role in underlining the regional disparities in broken childcare markets. This paper investigates the regional inequalities of access to childcare services in the United States (US) and their linkages to the unique social, economic, and cultural conditions of the childcare industry by using a comparative regional analysis. Childcare markets have been primarily studied at a particular state, city, or national level because of the lack of publicly available data on community-level childcare. Additionally, when information on licensed childcare capacity is available, the data are often untidy and difficult to standardize across states. This paper aims to contribute to the literature by creating a publicly available county-level national childcare database (deidentified) that includes childcare providers’ total licensed capacities, geographic identifiers, and care settings in 2022. To do so, I collaborated with each state’s childcare agencies. This new county-level database will be analyzed to address the regional inequalities by focusing on four groups of determinants of childcare provision: cultural factors, women’s labor force participation, segmented labor markets, and regulatory barriers. The paper will use descriptive regression analysis to see the effect of these factors on childcare provision. The data collection process for the new database has been completed, and initial findings document vast variation across the counties. The finished version of the paper, including the final results, will be ready by the time of the conference.

The Impact of Austerity on Gender Inequality in Time Allocation in the United States

Anamika Sen
,
Bates College

Abstract

The Great Recession of 2007-2009 caused large declines in state revenues which prompted many states to implement austerity measures to meet their balanced budget requirements. Decreases in public spending can have heterogeneous gender effects due to inequalities in time allocated for unpaid work. In this paper, I combine data from the American Time Use Survey for 2005-2015 and the State and Local Expenditures database to investigate the relationship between decreases in state education spending and time spent on child care. My analysis utilizes an event study approach to compare changes in time allocated for childcare activities by adults residing in states with and without spending reductions on K-12 and early education programs. Prior to the decreases in education spending, time spent on childcare activities across austerity and non-austerity states trended similarly. However, in the years following the spending cuts, residents of austerity states were spending more time on child care relative to residents of non-austerity states. The increase in child care in austerity states was unevenly distributed across genders. Men were allocating 1.8 additional hours weekly while women were allocating 3 additional hours weekly to child care. I further document long-lasting implications for gender equality: effects on the gender gap in childcare time persist even six years after the initial reduction in education spending. My findings suggest the need for gender budgeting at all stages of the fiscal budget cycle so that governments can pursue economic and social goals even during times of crisis.
JEL Classifications
  • B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches
  • O1 - Economic Development