The non-monetary economy represents work as domestic work, care and civic activity that has no monetary value, but remains a vitally important part of the economy. With respect to the current economic situation, work that results in monetary compensation is valued more than unpaid work. However, almost half of the US productive work continues outside the market economy and is not represented in measures of production such as GDP.
The non-monetary economy seeks to reward and value work that benefits society (whether through the production of services, products or making investments) that the monetary economy does not recognize. An economic and social imperative drives the work done in this economy. This method of job evaluation would test the ways in which unemployment and the workforce are measured today and, in general, restructure the way in which work and work are constructed in the United States.
The non-monetary economy also works to make the labor market more inclusive by valuing previously ignored forms of work. Some recognize that the non-monetary economy has a moral philosophy or social conscience that seeks to end social exclusion by including poor and unemployed people in economic opportunities and access to services and goods. Such community and grassroots movements encourage the community to be more participatory, thus providing a more democratic economic structure.
Much of the non-monetary work is classified as civic work or domestic work. These two types of work are fundamental to the functioning of daily life and are largely taken for granted and are undervalued. It is important to point out the microscope in these two areas because only certain people are very committed civically and very often a certain group of people tend to do domestic chores. Non-monetary economic systems hope to make community members more active, therefore more democratic with a more balanced representation, and value domestic work that women commonly do and that is less valued.