Consider also introducing work requirements into welfare programs. If the labor force participation requirement leads to less or lower quality time of single female parent households in social reproduction activities, that could lead to worse outcomes among dependents (Kalil and others 2022). Higher labor force participation may lead to total lifetime income reductions for the same women (assuming that their incomes later in life are at least partially supported by intrafamily transfers from working-age members to elderly dependents). On the other side of the same coin, conditional cash transfer programs may require additional time spent in nonremunerated social reproduction activities by caregivers – who are most often women – even while generating better human capital outcomes among dependents.

Lastly, the “same” policy from a fiscal standpoint may have different gender inequality impacts depending on the mode of delivery. Bjorvatn and others (2022) demonstrate in an experimental setting in Uganda that a childcare subsidy delivered as an in-kind service was at least as effective as an equivalent cash grant in increasing a mother’s total income and labor productivity; that the childcare subsidy also led to increased labor income for fathers while the equivalent cash grant had no impact; and that the childcare subsidy led to higher enrollments while the equivalent cash grant did not. The two policies are equivalent from a fiscal expenditure point of view, and yet the positive impact of the childcare subsidy on women, children, and men is greater than that of the equivalent cash grant.

We can begin to understand how fiscal policy affects gender inequality, social reproduction, and care by analyzing household demographics and social organization. The sex and age composition of households plays a significant role in determining care needs as well as which taxes and transfers supporting or undermining social reproduction are relevant: children enrolled in public school receive in-kind education services; women of childbearing age have greater health care needs; households with older, non-working older male members may qualify for old-age support.

The employment status of household members plays a role too. For instance, the employment status of a married couple can influence effective marginal tax rates on “secondary” income. Who takes part – and how frequently – in social reproduction can influence the impact that education service provision has: preschool children require more care while school age children require less, but school-age girls may be called on to provide some or all the care of younger dependents. And if women (rather than men) are more responsible for social reproduction, they may not look for paid employment.

# Household Typologies: Bringing Care and Social Reproduction into the Picture

The size and organization of the household are observable in household budget surveys, income and expenditure surveys, living standards measurement surveys, and other survey instruments used in standard CEQ assessments. We propose, therefore, that the CEQ assessment toolkit be adapted to estimate fiscal policy impacts on households according to their demographic (sex and age) and employment-disaggregated characteristics.

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