A Data Infrastructure for Measuring the Care Economy

In a consensus study report entitled “A Data Infrastructure for Measuring the Care Economy,” researchers affiliated with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine argue that, although caregiving is essential to families, communities, and the broader economy, measurement challenges and data gaps mean that many aspects of the care economy are not well understood. Moreover, data on the care economy relies on a patchwork of surveys, administrative records, and industry estimates, which were not designed to be integrated.

The report recommends expanding data collections to better capture care across a range of care needs, refining occupational and industry classifications, increasing data harmonization and sharing, and developing a new Care Economy Satellite Account to better measure the value and hours of both paid and unpaid care work. The report also identifies opportunities for combining data sources and highlights how a new survey focused on care could comprehensively address data gaps in understanding care needs, caregiving arrangements, and unmet needs.

Dana Wray of Statistics Canada and Ajit Zacharias of the Levy Economics Institute served on the committee that published this study report. Both are members of the Care Economies in Context project team.

Citation

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Data Infrastructure for Measuring the Care Economy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/29365.

Excerpt from summary

Beyond providing information needed to estimate the size and scope of the care
economy, strengthening the data infrastructure will enable research that can lead to a better understanding of the complexities, heterogeneity, and challenges underlying it, and inform decisions about how to best address care needs. The report focuses on practicable ways to improve, expand, and integrate the data infrastructure. It highlights conclusions and makes recommendations that could be implemented in a relatively short time, along with more resource-intensive ideas that could be feasible on a longer timeline.

While urgency to understand the care economy is increasing, the measurement challenges are substantial. Some parts of the care economy are particularly difficult to measure, such as unpaid and informally compensated (gray economy) care provided within households and communities, outside formal health and education systems. Overcoming the measurement challenges and closing data gaps would likely require combining information sources, including linking household surveys and administrative records, to take advantage of the relative strengths of different types of databases.