<p>This article analyzes the problem of who should pay the costs of a nation's labor force reproduction in relation to the widening of the participation to the widening participation of women in the labor market and the withering of the welfare state, from which concern arises regarding the work performed by women in the household unit. The article also examines the search to account for unpaid work. Over the last four decades, recurring crises have been the consequence of frequent stabilization plans, structural adjustment and debts renegotiations with international investors. The orientation of public expenditures toward debt servicing and the external commitments of countries have diminished the capacities of public spending principle in terms of social spending on education and healthcare.</p><p> </p>