Public Job-creation Programs: The Economic Benefits of Investing in Social Care: Case Studies in South Africa and the United States

摘要

Senior Scholar Rania Antonopoulos and Research Scholar Kijong Kim analyze the employment and distribution effects of expanding the domain of social care services in South Africa and the United States. Using input-output analysis, social accounting matrices, and microsimulation techniques, the authors compare the effects of investments in either physical infrastructure or community-based social care. The results of the simulation suggest that we would get more bang for the buck, from the standpoint of employment, by investing in the care sector--all while aiding those least able to weather the current economic storms.