Investing In Care: A Local Priority For Economies Across Europe And Central Asia

Across Europe and Central Asia, new United Nations Development Programme findings show that care services — from childcare to long-term support for older people and those with disabilities — are becoming a critical factor in economic strength as populations get older and workforces shrink. Policymakers have focused on roads, energy and digital upgrades, but the UNDP review of Moldova, North Macedonia, Türkiye, Ukraine and Uzbekistan argues that care provision must be treated like public infrastructure if countries want to keep people working and businesses competitive.

The UNDP study notes a demographic shift that will heighten demand for care. In 2020, children and elderly residents made up roughly one-sixth to a little more than one-fifth of those five countries’ populations; by 2040 that share is likely to lift to more than one-quarter. That rising dependent population will add pressure to systems already strained by limited funding, uneven service coverage and, in Ukraine’s case, the disruptions of a prolonged conflict. Experts warn that patchy responses in one part of the system — say, lack of affordable preschool — quickly force families to change work patterns, shrinking the labor pool and cutting household earnings.

A central problem is how much care work still falls outside the market and the official economy. Women provide far more unpaid care than men — more than double the time on average — and that imbalance cuts into their ability to work regular hours, advance careers or remain in formal employment. Earlier this year a regional care meeting convened by gender and development agencies brought governments, aid groups and civic organizations together to map out more coordinated, gender-aware approaches. “When unpaid care is treated as private family business, the public loses out on a large share of potential labor and productivity,” said a regional economist who reviewed the report’s methods.

The consequences are already measurable at the national level. In Moldova, for example, employment among women ages 25 to 49 who have at least one child under 6 is almost three-in-ten lower than for mothers without young children, illustrating how gaps in public services translate into lost jobs and income. By contrast, Uzbekistan offers a case where expanding public early childhood programs coincided with big gains: preschool enrollment climbed from about one in four children to nearly two in three between 2018 and 2022, and researchers linked that shift to roughly a one-eighth rise in women’s participation in the labor market. Those results suggest public spending on care can free up caregivers to join paid work and bolster household finances.

Paid care work presents its own challenges. Jobs in caregiving are overwhelmingly held by women, are often low-paid, part-time or informal, and typically lack training pathways and social protections. That makes it hard to recruit and keep experienced staff at a time when demand is climbing. Labor specialists say improving pay, career prospects and workplace standards in care will be essential to meet future needs and to avoid crises that push family members out of the workforce to provide unpaid support.

There is an economic argument for action, not just a social one. Joint research by the International Labour Organization, UNDP and UN Women in Türkiye found that public investment in early childhood services tends to produce several times more employment than an equivalent outlay in construction. Businesses, local governments, unions and community groups will all have parts to play, but national governments must lead on policy frameworks, financing and coordination so services are affordable and widely available. If countries take care seriously — as they do power grids and transport links — they can unlock workforce participation, support gender balance in employment and strengthen long-term resilience.