Does Statistical Measure of Unpaid Work Accurately Represent Human Values?

Below is another example of statist obsession with statistical aggregates.

The OECD writes, [chart included bold highlights mine]

Most unpaid work is housework. Mexicans do the most, at more than 3 hours per day, and Koreans the least, at 1 hour and 19 minutes. Much of this time is spent cooking. Americans spend the least time cooking each day (30 minutes) and Turks the most in the OECD (74 minutes). Most people spend around 50 minutes a day cooking.

Shopping also makes up a big part of unpaid work. Most people in OECD countries spend 23 minutes a day shopping, with the French spending the most (32 minutes) and the Koreans the least (13 minutes).

The report also attempts to estimate how much unpaid work is worth as a percentage of GDP for the 25 OECD countries for which data are available. It finds that the value of unpaid work is considerable, equivalent to about one-third of GDP in OECD countries, ranging from a low of 19% in Korea to a high of 53% in Portugal.

My comment

First, cooking or washing clothes may not be “paid work”, but this should NOT be seen in such simplistic dimensions. Question is who does the unpaid housework, how is unpaid work financed (how is cooking financed) and how does unpaid work affect productivity?

In the Philippine context, usually household chores are done by either family members or contracted informal labor (household helps). Thus, the productive household members are mostly gainfully employed who finances these “unpaid” jobs. (yes subcontracting to laundry shops or buying from "carinderia" eatery are alternatives but becomes paid work)

Yet unpaid work may not necessarily be measured in money terms because payment can be coursed through non-money benefits (shelter, grocery goods, meals, education and etc...). And monetary stipend may not be based on salaries but on allowances (thus not reflected on government statistics because payments isn’t formal or declared).

In other words, unpaid work isn’t free, it's a form of voluntary exchange coursed through informal means. Instead unpaid work represents division of labor too.

An important point is highlighted by this great video from Hans Rosling, which I earlier posted, which essentially shows of the introduction of the washing machine that has magnified the benefits of division of labor.

Mr. Rosling’s presentation elaborated on the indirect and intangible benefits particularly freeing of invaluable time for the household moms to educate their children, which has eventually enhanced productivity and added to economic growth.

Basically it’s too naive to narrow down “work” to just dollars and cents. There are many other aspects or unseen cost-benefit tradeoffs surrounding human actions. Point is, statists overlook opportunity costs.

Second, if shopping, which could be deemed as a leisure activity, is reckoned as unpaid work, then how about sex, watching tv, sports, fellowship, playing computer/internet games and others..., must they be reckoned as unpaid work too? What differentiates work and leisure?

This just shows that if you like chocolates and I like beer, statist experts will extrapolate these into dollars and cents from which they configure an economic model and subsequently apply political undertones.

This means that if government sees equality as forcing me to have chocolates instead of beer, and on the other hand, forcing you to have beer instead of chocolates then we both achieve equal satisfaction. BS...

The point is statists apply the reductio ad absurdum fallacies in lieu of people’s value preferences or marginal utilities.

The second point is, it’s always their preferences or tastes or ethical virtues that should be upheld...not yours.