The idea of the Economic Man forms the cornerstone of orthodox economic thought, Katrine Marcal, a Swedish journalist, argues in her newly translated book - Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner? The bulk of women’s work: caring, cleaning, child-rearing is excluded from the idea of the economic man, who acts out of rational self interest, and must then be incentivised to work through monetary remuneration. Marcal argues that when looking at how Adam Smith’s dinner arrived at the table: through the baker, the butcher, the farmer, all of whom carried out their work due to rational self interest, economic theory overlooks the final stage - his mother, who lived with the unmarried philosopher for his entire life, cooked his dinner, and did so because of love, and familial ties.
But this could be changing, with big implications for women. Late last year, the UK’s Office for National Statistics announced unpaid care and housework would be included in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) calculations, classed as “unpaid GDP”. Essentially, if the task carried out unpaid could have been carried out by a worker, be it cleaning, childcare or elderly care, it will be given a value. This is no small move: the estimated value of unpaid GDP (still predominantly the burden of women) £440.2billion. Cleaning and laundry alone was worth £97.2billion in 2012, the equivalent of 5.9 per cent of GDP. Unpaid childcare was worth £343billion when calculated in 2010, which represents approximately three times the contribution of the entire financial services industry in the UK.
Depending on your position in the economy, the relation between your motivation in work and how much you’re paid differs wildly. A recent undercover investigation revealed British MPs Jack Straw and Malcolm Rifkind on camera negotiating cash for access to senior politicians, with journalists posing as senior executives of a fake Chinese firm. In response to the scandal, other politicians clamoured to defend the eye watering sums many command in second jobs and nebulous consultancy roles, arguing that an MP’s flat rate of pay, excluding expenses for travel, accommodation and living costs, is £67,000 a year. To attract the best, the public were told, the salary needed to rise.
