National Statistics Online - Articles - Valuing Informal Childcare in the UK - September 2001
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Valuing Informal Childcare in the UK - September 2001
Outlines new methodology being developed by the ONS to measure and value the output of the household production of childcare.
This article outlines a new methodology being developed by the ONS to measure and value the output of the household production of childcare. This includes all care given by parents, family members, friends, and focuses on the numbers of children looked after, rather than those giving the care. It is part of a programme of work to produce a Household Satellite Account (HSA). The approach is experimental and the authors welcome comments about the methodology and underlying assumptions, as well as suggestions about additional data sources. The figures quoted in the article are provisional and should be interpreted cautiously, bearing in mind their sensitivity to some of the assumptions.
The article starts with a brief definition of a HSA. Then the varied and often conflicting definitions of ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ childcare are discussed, clarifying the definition of household production of childcare used in this project. The third section outlines the methodology used to estimate the volume of formal childcare provision, and includes an initial attempt to estimate this by type of provision. Section four gives the methodology, assumptions and estimates of the volume and value of informal childcare, and includes a discussion of the issues relating to different market prices. The fifth section examines how sensitive the volume and valuation estimates are to a number of alternative assumptions. The paper concludes by highlighting areas for future development.
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