Financing Care Economies in Times of Austerity

Progressive fiscal policies play a crucial role in responding to ongoing multiple global crises in mobilising revenue and spending it towards a care-responsive and just transition. Care economies have gained recognition after the COVID-19 pandemic, and some governments in the Global South have created new frameworks and policies to promote them. However, funding is clearly lacking in this sector. To deepen the care crisis, the economic crisis after Covid-19 International Financial Institutions (IFIs) like the IMF have established strict measures that required public expenditure cuts as a condition to receive emergency pandemic response funds. As a result, frameworks will not be implemented, and there is a danger of financializaion, tax exemptions to care providers and customers driving the implementation, along with private sector involvements making it a profit driven sector, that doesn't address the most acute care needs. The paper assesses trends care economy financing from progressive taxation sources in 16 countries in the Global South