Costs and Benefits of Investing in Transformative Care Policy Packages: A Macrosimulation Study in 82 Countries

This ILO Working Paper examines the annual investment required for universal, collectively funded childcare and long-term care services, as well as adequate paid care leave and breastfeeding breaks to parents in 82 countries. 

This study estimates the annual public investment required to provide adequately paid individual maternity, paternity and parental leave, extending current provision to each parent and to informal economy workers in line with international labour standards and with a view to closing current policy gaps in legislation and provision. It further examines the annual public investment costs of providing adequate free universal provision of both childcare and long-term care of high quality. It then simulates the short-term employment benefits of such a package of investments. This work builds on previous work by the ILO on routes towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and implementing social protection systems, including social protection floors (ILO 2018a; ILO 2021a; Bierbaum and Schmitt 2022).