Care Economies in Context: Exploring the Structures and Key Gaps in Care Economies in the Global South

In the International Journal of Care and Caring (Volume 10, Issue 1), Mieke E. Meurs and Mahmud Yesuf co-edited a special themed section, “Exploring the Structures and Key Gaps in Care Economies in the Global South,” which explores important differences in how care is organized across four countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The issue includes “Family care in Mongolia: children as unpaid carers,” an article co-written by Otgontugs Banzragch, Myagmarsuren Boldbaatar, and Khishigt Dandarchuluun. Otgontugs leads the Care Economies in Context Mongolia team.

Mieke Meurs is Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at American University in Washington, DC, where she is co-director of the Program for Gender Analysis in Economics. She is a member of the Care Economies in Context team.

Citation

Meurs, M., & Yesuf, M. (Eds.). (2026). Themed section: Care economies in context: Exploring the structures and key gaps in care economies in the Global South. International Journal of Care and Caring, 10(1).

Abstract

The articles in this themed section describe the legal framework of the care regime, the distribution of differing forms of care provision between families and states and within households, and care gaps in four middle-income countries (Brazil, Ghana, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia). The articles detail the diverse familialist care regimes, documenting important differences in how families provide care. The articles highlight historical and cultural factors associated with the evolution of the distinctive care institutions in the four countries. The authors discuss why these specificities matter, identifying gaps needing policy attention, inequalities in access to care, and likely impacts on carers’ autonomy and economic independence. These are key contributions to effectively modeling the care economy for policy analysis and organizing care policy reform.