Nancy Folbre

Evolution and Intersectional Conflict

18 January 2021

During the protests catalyzed by the murder of George Floyd the protestors took to the streets in May and June did so in the name of larger principles of political and economic justice and their persistent intensity created a tipping point that persuaded many bystanders of the need for systemic change.

Expendable Heroes?

11 June 2020

On the economic impact of Covid-19 on care workers: most essential workers in the U.S. are still in suspense regarding the possibility of  compensation for their forced exposure to Covid-19 infection

The Covid-19 Care Penalty

11 June 2020

The abrupt creation of a new category of workers based on social need, rather than market forces, dramatized an important question: why do we often see a disjuncture between the social value of work and its private, pecuniary reward?

Unpaid Work, Animated

11 June 2020

About half of all the time devoted to work in the U.S. is devoted to unpaid work in the home.

Responsibility Time

27 May 2020

If there was ever a time we urgently needed to know more about time use, that time has come. The Covid-19 pandemic utterly changed daily rhythms for many sequestered households and the “opening up” process closed down some old routines.

The Homemade Value-Added Stabilizer

19 May 2020

During the Covid-19 pandemic, unpaid work served not only as a social safety net, but also as an automatic stabilizer.

Italian Feminists: In Defense of Caregivers

9 April 2020

“The recent ‘Cura Italia’ (Care for Italy) decree, issued by the Italian Government, does not “take care” of domestic workers, home-based caregivers for the elderly and child minders.”

The Care Theory of Value

8 April 2020

The limits of markets also help explain why we expect workers who provide care services. This expectation, generally though not always fulfilled, makes it difficult for care workers to threaten to withdraw their services; it lowers their bargaining power.

Are We All Care Workers Now?

4 April 2020

Who, exactly, are care workers, other than the people we need most right now, as the covid-19 pandemic overlays the division of labor with a new division of risk?

View from a Blue Rurality

2 April 2020

We are the lucky ones, distancing in an already pretty distanced place. On country roads, plenty of space for walking, biking, breathing easy.

Care Work Network: Distillations #1

30 March 2020

As of March 30, 2020…

Coronavirus and the Fragility of the U.S. Economy

29 March 2020

The Roosevelt Institute organized a twitter chat on Friday, March 29th and invited me to participate, along with about twenty other people (under the hashtag #ProgressingAhead).