The effect of housewife's labor on GDP calculations

In this study, based on the Labor Theory of Value, it has been tried to reveal the evolutionary definitions of "labor" and the developments in the theory, based on the theoretical analysis. Using the example of GDP, which is an indicator of the reflections of labor in the field of social welfare, it has been tried to measure the economic value of housewives' labor through an empirical modelling. For this purpose, in this study conducted with a holistic approach; first of all, the concept of "labor" was questioned in orthodox (mainstream) economic theories; then, by abstracting from the labor-employment relationship, it has been focused on how the unpaid housewife's labor, which is out of employment in the capitalist system, can have an effect on GDP. As an indicator of the need for heterodox policies in the solution of economic problems with the theoretical analysis that is the focus of the study; It was concluded that the changing human profile moved away from rationality and formed the "limited rationality" and then the "heterogeneous individual" profile. The best example of the new heterogeneous individual model, who prefers to make decisions according to the conditions in which needs are met; considered to be women. Women who make up half of the population as employed and domestic workers; Due to their preference to be housewives, they were defined as the segment that best fits the definition of a limited rational individual compared to the entire population. Due to these changes in the labor structure and individuals determined as a result of the theoretical analysis, housewife labor was taken into account as the main variable of the empirical analysis of the study. In the first stage of the empirical analysis made with TUIK employment data in the case of Turkey, the inequality measure of the current situation in which housewife labor is not included in GDP was calculated using the Atkinson Inequality Scale. In the second stage of the model, the effect on GDP was calculated by taking into account the labor of housewives. The results of the theoretical and empirical analysis were evaluated in the context of the effect of labor-employment dependency on social inequality and economic welfare. It is thought that the study will contribute to the literature on heterodox labor theories, which has limited empirical studies.