My thesis asks why Taiwan does not facilitate a path to citizenship to recent immigrants, despite the obvious advantages to do so, as the government’s attempt to promote its society as a model of civic nationalism in Asia, in relation to the pressing need to address labour shortages caused by population aging. I argue that the political economy of care provision that seeks to address the latter problem trumps concerns over national identity. I will look at the changes in the supply of labour in the sector of care since the 1990s as the evidence. Taiwan illustrates the case of East Asian nations’ rapid transition to post-industrial societies, which are now confronted with acute socio-demographic and care crises stemming from aging populations, low fertility rates and a traditional reliance on the family to provide social welfare. This thesis argues that this change in the supply of labour represents a key indicator of the multiple dimensions of the question of exclusion faced by migrant domestic workers in Taiwan. Civil society actors promoting Taiwan’s civic nationalism in the feminist and labour movements and in a few religious associations are unable to address the rights of foreign live-in caregivers because of the dynamics of the political economy of care in Asia and its dependence on migration for reproductive labour.

A entrada da mulher no mercado de trabalho no Brasil trouxe maior demanda à terceirização docare à criança. Historicamente ocare, também realizado por membros da família, é transferido às creches, escolas e, quando realizado na residência da família, torna-se responsabilidade da babá. A presente pesquisa pretende trazer à tona a discussão do trabalho decare realizado por babás no contexto doméstico, buscando compreender a atividade do trabalho da babá, as emoções a ele relacionadas e explorar as dinâmicas relacionais entre o profissional, a criança e a família. Como referencial metodológico, esta pesquisa utilizou entrevistas em profundidade e análise de narrativas de nove entrevistas realizadas na cidade de São Paulo. O estudo atenta-se a questões ligadas às atividades gerais, ao afeto e à confiança surgidas no trabalho, a partir do ponto de vista das babás. A pesquisa tem como embasamento teórico estudos sobre ocareprovindos da sociologia, da psicologia e da economia decare. Como resultados, discutimos a precarização do trabalho decare realizado pelas babás, o trabalho decare pago e não pago, assim como as relações das babás com as crianças no que diz respeito ao vínculo, intimidade, afeto e perda / The entry of women into the labor market in Brazil brought greater demand for third-party child care. Historically, child care (also performed by family members) has been transferred to nurseries, schools and when carried out in the family residence becomes the responsibility of the nanny. The present research brings up the discussion of care work carried out by nannies in the domestic context seeking to understand their work activity, the emotions related to care and explore the relationship dynamics among the professional, the child and the family. As a methodological reference this research used in-depth interviews and analysis of narratives based on nine interviews conducted in the city of São Paulo. The study emphasizes the issues related to nannies regular duties, as well as affection and trust at work from the nannies point of view. The research is based on theoretical studies about care from sociology, psychology, and the economy of care. At our findings, I discuss the nannies care work precariousness, paid and unpaid care work, as well as the relationships of nannies with children regarding bond, intimacy, affection and loss

A entrada da mulher no mercado de trabalho no Brasil trouxe maior demanda à terceirização docare à criança. Historicamente ocare, também realizado por membros da família, é transferido às creches, escolas e, quando realizado na residência da família, torna-se responsabilidade da babá. A presente pesquisa pretende trazer à tona a discussão do trabalho decare realizado por babás no contexto doméstico, buscando compreender a atividade do trabalho da babá, as emoções a ele relacionadas e explorar as dinâmicas relacionais entre o profissional, a criança e a família. Como referencial metodológico, esta pesquisa utilizou entrevistas em profundidade e análise de narrativas de nove entrevistas realizadas na cidade de São Paulo. O estudo atenta-se a questões ligadas às atividades gerais, ao afeto e à confiança surgidas no trabalho, a partir do ponto de vista das babás. A pesquisa tem como embasamento teórico estudos sobre ocareprovindos da sociologia, da psicologia e da economia decare. Como resultados, discutimos a precarização do trabalho decare realizado pelas babás, o trabalho decare pago e não pago, assim como as relações das babás com as crianças no que diz respeito ao vínculo, intimidade, afeto e perda / The entry of women into the labor market in Brazil brought greater demand for third-party child care. Historically, child care (also performed by family members) has been transferred to nurseries, schools and when carried out in the family residence becomes the responsibility of the nanny. The present research brings up the discussion of care work carried out by nannies in the domestic context seeking to understand their work activity, the emotions related to care and explore the relationship dynamics among the professional, the child and the family. As a methodological reference this research used in-depth interviews and analysis of narratives based on nine interviews conducted in the city of São Paulo. The study emphasizes the issues related to nannies regular duties, as well as affection and trust at work from the nannies point of view. The research is based on theoretical studies about care from sociology, psychology, and the economy of care. At our findings, I discuss the nannies care work precariousness, paid and unpaid care work, as well as the relationships of nannies with children regarding bond, intimacy, affection and loss

The research undertaken represents an in-depth study of gender and economics from a multi-disciplinary perspective. By drawing on economic, social policy and political science literature it makes an original contribution to the disciplines of economics and feminist economics by advancing ideas on a feminist theory of policy change and institutional design. Equally, the study develops a framework for a multi-method approach to feminist research with applied policy focus by establishing a pragmatic feminist research paradigm. By espousing multiple research philosophies, it extends understanding of gender differences in policy outcomes by connecting theories from feminist economics, feminist historical institutionalism and ideational processes. Jointly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council UK and the Scottish Government, this project attempts to answer three key questions: What is the relative position of men and women in the Scottish economy and how do childcare responsibilities influence these? Which institutions, structures and processes have been instrumental in embedding gender in Scottish economic policy? To what extent and how is the Scottish Government’s approach to economic policy gendered? Quantitative analysis reveals persistently disproportionate differences in men and women’s position in the labour market. Women remain over-represented in part-time employment and in the public sector in the 10years under investigation. Using panel data, the multinomial logistic regression estimation of patterns in labour market transitions equally reveal disproportionate gendered patterns, with families with dependent children 0-4years at a disadvantage to those without. Qualitative analysis indicates that these differences are partly explained by the fact that the unpaid economy still remains invisible to policymakers despite changes in the institutional design, policy processes and the approach to equality policymaking undertaken in Scotland. Unpaid childcare work is not represented as policy relevant and the way gender, equality and gender equality are conceptualised within institutional sites and on political agendas pose various challenges for policy development on unpaid childcare work and gender equality in general. Additionally, policymakers in Scotland do not integrate both the paid and unpaid economies in economic policy formulation since social policy and economic policy are designed separately. The study also establishes that the range of institutions and actors that make-up the institutional setting for regulating and promoting equality, influence how equality issues are treated within a national context. In Scotland, equality regulating institutions such as parliament, the Scottish Government, equality commission and the law are instrumental variables in determining the range of equality issues that are embedded in an equality infrastructure and the extent to which equality issues, including gender, are consequently embedded in public policy and government budgets. Significantly despite meeting all the attributes of an equality issue, unpaid care is not classified as a protected characteristic in the Equality legislation. These institutions can ameliorate, sustain or perpetuate the delivery of unequitable policy outcomes for men and women in the mutually dependent paid and unpaid economy. Thus, economic, social and political institutions are not independent from one another but are interrelated in complex ways that subsequently have material consequences on men and women in society. In summary, there are interlinkages between the law, labour market, the unpaid economy, the welfare state and gendered political institutions such that policy or institutional change in one will be dependent on or trigger change in another. These institutions are gendered, but are also interlinked and underpin the gender structure of other institutions to the extent that the gendered norms and ideas embedded in one institution, for example legislation or political institutions, structure the gendered dimensions of the labour market, welfare state, and the unpaid economy. By shedding light on institutional and political forces that regulate equality in addition to macroeconomic forces, the analysis reveals the important role of institutions, policy actors and their ideas as instrumental forces which constantly define, redefine and reconstruct the labour market experiences of men and women with significant material consequences.