Extended Summary

In the present context, major global socioeconomic changes are taking place, and these changes impact the care economy directly. A series of interconnected developments including structural demographic changes and systematic economis crises are driving a growing demand for care services. In 2015, approximately 2.1 billion people worldwide needed care, and this number is expected to increase by another 200 million by 2030. In this situation, the care economy will become even more key issue in the future.

How the care economy operates is closely linked to the welfare state regime and social policy practices adopted by countries. In countries with strong social policies, care services are approached in accordance with the principle of universalism. This principle, based on the principle that all citizens have access to the same service system, that the system has the capacity to provide services with the same standards nationwide, that access to the system is independent of citizens’ economic circumstances, and that everyone in need can access these services—in other words, that the supply of services can meet demand—is built upon the principle that care services are a citizen’s right.

In contrast, in countries where the welfare state is relatively weak and where public administrations play a more limited role in social policy implementation, care services are viewed as a problem to be solved within the family and under the responsibility of women. In other words, rather than being defined as a social problem, as in the universalist perspective, care services are defined through the lens of women’s labor. In this context, care work is performed almost entirely by women within the household, without compensation. The term “sandwich generation,” which emphasizes the double care burden faced by middle-aged women with young children, particularly those who must care for both their own children and the elderly in their families, is used. The number of women in this situation, who undertake unpaid care work, which represents the largely unpaid aspect of the care economy, demonstrates the crucial role unpaid labor plays in the functioning of the care economy.

When evaluated in terms of the structural structure of care services in Türkiye, it is clear that an approach that separates women from caregiving has not yet emerged in policy texts. Indeed, caregiving concerns two main groups: care recipients and caregivers, but in Türkiye, caregivers are predominantly women within the household. This weakens women’s relationship with the labor market. This socio-political approach to the care economy in Türkiye can be seen as a social policy spiral integrated with issues such as accessibility to institutional care services and supply-demand gaps. One of the most important ways to address this situation is to increase the accessibility of institutional care services. Understanding which care gaps represent the largest demand group, the extent of the gap, and the future trajectory of these gaps is crucial for implementing social policies that will address a significant challenge in the care economy.

This study, which analyzed formal institutional care services compenant of the care economy seeks two main purpuses. First, it is to present the supply-demand balance for formal institutional care services based on the current landscape. In this context, the current supply-demand balance of public and private formal institutional care services, which represent the two pillars of the ‘care diamond’, is addressed within the scope of elderly, child, and individuals with disabilities. The second is to present future scenarios regarding supply-demand gaps in institutional care services. In this contex, expected future scenario of supply-demand gaps of the care services is addressed by considering future population projections related to elderly, child, and individuals with disablities. In line with this, the study indicates that there is a care bottleneck in all three groups: the elderly, children, and individuals with disabilities, regardless of the type of formal institutional care services. Furthermore, it is solid finding that meeting this demand thru the unpaid labor of women, which is the dominant political approach in today’s Türkiye, will not be sufficient.