Vulnerable bodies, total work and caring relationships: a new economic perspective

Unpaid work is an issue that challenges economic theory and public policy: given its size, ethical component, relational quality and role in the sustainability of advanced economic systems, it needs to be properly defined, measured, and placed within economic theory. This paper uses Sraffian and Senian tools to adopt an ‘extended reproductive macro-economic approach’ which considers the process of social reproduction that enables people to work and live a socially sustainable life.