Household Production and Consumption in Finland 2001

Care ofchildren and adults
Childcare and the care of adults who are in need of help involve not only
physical assistance in personal care, but also social interaction and the
provision of security. Other aspects of care include transportation to health
care, day care or other services.
The value of care produced at home amounts to 5.3 billion euros a year.
Care provision in households has been supported from the public purse by
care allowances worth a total of 704 million euros. These allowances include
the home care allowance, family nursing support and parents’ allowance
(excluding maternity and paternity allowance). In the Satellite Account these
allowances have been deducted from value added, which following this
deduction amounts to 4.9 billion euros.
Figure 8 illustrates the structure of care provision. As is the case with care
provision in general, the care provided by households is highly
labour-intensive. The only capital goods allocated to care are baby carriages,
car seats, etc. Beds and other furniture needed in the provision of care and for
living in general are allocated in their entirety to housing. Likewise, food
consumed by the care recipient is allocated to meals and snacks.
Children’s toys and books, nappies and various babycare supplies and
accessories are allocated to intermediate consumption. Driving children to day
care or hobbies is placed under the heading of transportation. This accounts
for almost one-fifth of the total value of output.
The provision of services in lieu of the care provided by households rests
mainly with the public sector.
Figure 8.
Care of children and adults, value and structure
Shopping, services
and travel to care
22%
Care of children and adults,
5.3 billion euros
Intermediate
consumption
4%
Consumption of
fixed capital
1%
Net value added
73%
42 Statistics Finland National Consumer Research Centre