The Fact
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis treats unpaid household production outside the standard market GDP accounts because no market transaction occurs. When the same kinds of services are purchased in the market—such as childcare, cleaning, prepared meals, lawn care, or paid caregiving—the transactions are included in measured GDP.
What This Means
A household can still need the same meal, childcare, cleaning, or caregiving work whether it is done unpaid inside the home or purchased from someone else. The national accounts measure the purchased version much more directly, so a shift from unpaid household production to market services can raise measured market output even when the underlying household need did not change.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Household Production Economic Statistics and Expanded Indicators in U.S. Household Production Statistics.