SPAIN
The gendered economy in a low-low fertility society
Spain is one of the lowest fertility countries in the world and is aging rapidly. Its population has been essentially flat since 2010 and is likely to stay that way or decline in the future. It is also distinct for having one of the oldest average ages of childbirth and highest proportion of first time mothers over the age of 40. All of these factors make both the generational and gendered economies topics of vital interest.
The Spanish team is therefore focused on measuring the age and gender dimensions of the total economy — that is both the market economy and the unpaid care work economy. They are also creating models of the gendered and generational economies that incorporate more interactions in the macroeconomy, including pensions, education, capital accumulation and other dynamics. Some of this work is particularly innovative for including parental time spent in unpaid care work as human capital investment. Usually, such models would include only market-based inputs such as education and healthcare.
