A simple, first question of economics posed by Adam Smith, how do you get your dinner, sprang to mind when I came to the chapter dealing with work-life balance in the pre-Budget document issued this month.

I had just read an article by Katrine Kielos, The Invisible Heart Of The Economy, in a new quarterly magazine, Fresh Thinking, where she points out that policymakers must be aware that markets cannot function effectively outside a structure built on values of responsibility, obligation and cooperation. These principles obviously cannot be taken for granted. But it apparently seems less clear to those oblivious to the fact that our society cannot function any more on the traditional lines whereby the provision of care is supplied by women kept away from paid work.

If we want to increase the number of women in the labour force – which we do - we have to seriously see to the demand for policies that allow parents to combine work with family responsibilities as this need increases.

Yet, this has been another year of talk about how women need to be more productive in terms of work and children: more women in paid employment and more women to have more children. However, statistics given in the pre-Budget document show that the decline of women in paid work within the age cohort of 30 to 34 continues despite all that is said about what is being done.

Moreover, the government – through its Nationalist MEPs - has again contradicted all its declared concern on this issue by voting against the extension of maternity leave and the introduction of a two-week paternity leave as per the European Commission’s proposal. Regardless of the much-touted need for the economy to make “optimal use of its entire human capital stock and seek to increase women’s labour participation rate further”, as per this year’s pre-Budget document, there is still no mention of new and effective proposals on how to do this, even when the government is acknowledging that what has been done up to now is hardly working.

We do get a warning though with regard to prospects: “in the absence of other employment-friendly policies, the rate of increase in female employment rates is likely to taper off as the impact of the (previously) introduced policy initiatives exhibit a diminishing influence.”

In the aforementioned article, Kielos refers to a book I had read some time ago, The Invisible Heart: Economics And Family Values (2001). In this book, economist and author Nancy Folbre - with reference to Adam Smith’s famous metaphor of “the invisible hand” - points out that serious attention ought to be given to the economic forces that are “exploding” family life and limiting the time, attention and care that families can provide. We cannot continue relying on the care supplied solely by mothers and grandmothers.

Intensified economic competition without the support framework necessary for a work-life balance will continue incurring penalties on our families and on our economy. Although Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” brought food to the table (or rather, some tables, but that is another matter), this food has to be bought, cooked, put on the table, which table had to be laid and cleared up, the dishes done and the tablecloth and napkins laundered. Also, babies have to be fed and children given a bath after dinner... you get my drift.

Therefore, policymakers must also focus on what Folbre terms “the invisible heart” (with reference to care work that has hitherto been taken for granted), thus brining into the equation non-market work. We need policies that acknowledge our collective responsibility for the latter.

Those in the control room must not rely solely on the “invisible hand” whereby it is said that competition, driven by self-interest in the free market, automatically benefits the whole of society. They must also look at the other economy, which the market is also based on. It is all about bridging between the public and the private, where men and women may combine paid work with family and community responsibilities.

We’ve heard a lot about family values and on how to strengthen the family in these last months during the run-up to the divorce referendum. How is this being done? The pre-Budget document offers little new to address this issue.

Malta is still at the bottom of the EU list when it comes to women in the labour market. At the same time, there is also the problem of a low fertility rate. In spite of all the pre-Budget and Budget rhetoric, the latest government document confirms that family support to date has not been giving the desired results while, at the same time, no effective alternatives are offered. Simply, the government is not delivering in this important area of economic policy.

helenadalli@gmail.com

Dr Dalli is shadow minister for the public service, government investments and gender equality.