In Shifting Focus , the authors present a "broader view of the economy" that "recognizes that people who are not in paid employment still participate in economic activities that contribute to their communities" . What examples of this broader view of the economy have you encountered in the community or neighborhood you are assessing? What are the implications of these examples for economic development within the community?

Economy Guiding Ideas 11 The economy includes unpaid work and non- market transactions People who are not in paid employment make important economic contributions to their communities Different views of economy lead to different economic development strategies Generally when we think of the economy we imagine the factories and businesses that employ people and produce goods and services for the market. We can also take a much broader view of the economy and include the whole range of unpaid work that people do to produce goods and services that are either sold on the market or used in non-market transactions. In this case the economy involves activities such as housework; growing vegetables in the back yard; odd jobs done as favours for family and friends; art and craft activities; and voluntary work done for kindergartens, schools and community groups. Many people spend more hours each day doing unpaid and voluntary work than they do in paid employment. At a national level more time is spent in unpaid household and voluntary work than in paid employment (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1993). Indeed, the value of the goods and services produced in households by unpaid workers is almost equivalent to the goods and services produced for the market (Ironmonger 1996). The second, broader view of the economy is important because it recognises that people who are not in paid employment still participate in economic activities that contribute to their communities. These economic actors include workers who have been retrenched from their jobs, young people who are unemployed, women who have children and are not in the paid workforce, retired workers and people with disabilities who do not have access to paid work. The two different ways of thinking about the economy impact economic development strategies. If the economy is understood as comprising only paid work and production for the market then promoting business growth will become the focus. Strategies to do this might include: incentives to attract large employers schemes to support small businesses MONASH