Countries around the world are facing a multitude of challenges: ageing populations, youth mental health crises, declining social cohesion, an epidemic of loneliness, increasing natural disasters and the looming threat of generative-AI driven job displacement. These challenges point to the importance of transitioning to a wellbeing economy. This transition will require a new approach to measuring and building prosperity that recognises the value of “social production”.

Social production – unpaid socially productive activities such as volunteering, caregiving, ecological restoration, informal mentoring and civic participation – is the glue that holds societies together. It provides a sense of belonging and purpose that fosters mental health, supports productivity in the formal economy, improves environmental wellbeing, and offers surge capacity in crises. Despite such benefits, the contribution of social production often goes unrecognised.

The importance of social production

While social production does not replace government-provided social services, it is critical to addressing a range of challenges, including workforce shortages in the care and primary prevention sectors. In addition, social production activities contributes to healthy ageing, by improving quality of life and mental health, and reducing functional decline and risk of mortality. By fostering opportunities for older adults to contribute, societies can address public health concerns such as loneliness and social isolation while enriching the lives of other community members. Social production also fosters bonds of reciprocity, has been associated with improved social cohesion and promotes intergenerational engagement: vital for transmitting knowledge, wisdom and cultural heritage.

Social production is significant across all age groups. Older adults, for instance, contribute immensely through unpaid efforts. In the US, individuals over 65 contributed an estimated US$319.22 billion in unpaid efforts in 2021. In Australia, social production was valued at AU$287.86 billion, with those aged 65 and over contributing $7.56 billion through voluntary work. These figures are likely underestimates due to the lack of systematic measurement of social production.

For young people, engagement in socially productive activities can help develop a positive self-concept, empathy, a sense of purpose and community connectedness, which improves mental health, pro-social behaviours and life satisfaction. Investments to support social production can mitigate loneliness, foster civil society, and promote social integration.

The potential of national time banks

Time banks offer a systemic approach to operationalising and valuing social production. Participants earn time credits by engaging in social production, namely providing services to the community, which they can later use for services they need.

The 77^th World Health Assembly marked a seminal moment in global health governance with the passage of a resolution to reorient economic systems towards collective health and wellbeing. This development is not a recalibration of health financing but an acknowledgment of the interplay between economic policy, social environments, and health – including mental health –  and the imperative to reconceptualise economies to fulfil the social contract. Time banks, by operationalising social production, represent essential infrastructure in this transition to wellbeing-oriented economies.

National time banks systematise the informal economy and enable its integration with the formal economy, which is particularly important for mobilising resources in times of need.

In healthcare, time credits could incentivise caregiving and alleviate the burden on formal systems, ensuring vulnerable populations receive timely and compassionate care. Governments could partner with local organisations and businesses to incentivise social production by offering matching time credits, thereby ensuring a steady flow of available services. Periodic monetisation of time credits by governments could create a robust mechanism to respond to economic downturns or crises. This approach provides a safety net that draws on both community and government resources, reducing stigma associated with “welfare” through mutual contribution and support.

To integrate social production with the formal economy, government would need to invest in infrastructure that aligns national time banks with existing public and private service frameworks. This could include digital platforms to facilitate time credit exchanges, training programs, and partnerships with healthcare providers, educational institutions and other sectors. Time credits, earned through social production activities and deposited into time banks could even be made exchangeable for goods and services, creating a direct link between the two economies.

Regulatory policies can recognise time credits within financial systems, such as for public services or social welfare programs. Establishing quality and accountability standards for time bank services would ensure they complement formal services.

Moreover, implementing tax incentives for businesses that support time banks can drive their integration with the formal economy. Such incentives encourage corporate participation in socially productive activities, such as volunteering, enhancing community engagement and corporate social responsibility. This can increase employee satisfaction, improve public perceptions, and generate savings through improved employee wellness and community development.

Where have time banks worked before?

Time banking was developed in the 1970s by Teruko Mizushima in Japan, who introduced it to build stronger communities through the exchange of services based on time. During a period where inflation was a significant challenge in Japan, Mizushima reasoned that unlike money, time is a commodity not affected by inflation. Dr Edgar Cahn later popularised the concept in the US, introducing time banking to address social inequality and build stronger communities. The movement also gained traction in the United Kingdom through Timebanking UK and the New Economics Foundation.

Switzerland has implemented time banks with a unique approach that integrates them with existing social services and local government structures. The Swiss approach involves close collaboration between community members, municipal authorities and service providers, creating a well-coordinated network where time credits can be used for a wide range of services, from healthcare to home maintenance. This comprehensive integration embeds the time bank system in everyday life, making it reliable and widely accepted. The Swiss experience offers valuable lessons for scalability, sustainability and incorporating time banks into economic and social systems.

Time banks have now been established in 34 countries to serve a wide range of purposes, including:

• Lowering recidivism among first-time juvenile offenders.
• Delivering healthcare, job training, and social services.
• Supporting substance abuse recovery.
• Offering transportation for homebound seniors in rural areas.
• Providing elder care, community health services, and hospice care.
• Promoting women's rights initiatives.

In the past, time banks have faced sustainability and scalability challenges due to limited resources, trust and quality issues, and administrative burdens. A national system enabled by advances in technology, such as blockchain, could address these issues through centralised support and standardised systems. Quality assurance measures, integration into social welfare programs, public awareness campaigns, and incentives could further strengthen the system.

Legislative support, funding and resources from governments – alongside a central coordinating body – can ensure consistency, quality and accountability across a network of time banks. Digital platforms and mobile apps can facilitate service exchanges and enhance scalability by allowing exchanges across different regions. Integrating time banks with formal economic and social systems, such as healthcare providers and educational institutions, can create a comprehensive support network.

Turning promise into reality

Measuring social production may help shift the narrative of prosperity from a focus on GDP growth to a more balanced and inclusive model. Time banks can offer a more sustainable and accurate method for measuring social production compared to traditional national surveys of representative samples. They capture the diverse and ongoing exchanges of services: a real-time picture of social productivity that traditional surveys often miss. By directly involving participants, time banks also enhance accuracy, as the data collected is grounded in actual transactions rather than estimations or self-reporting.

By valuing unpaid work, fostering mutual support and enhancing social cohesion, time banks can contribute to economic resilience and societal wellbeing. Through a robust policy framework, central coordination, local engagement and smart use of digital infrastructure, time banks can help unlock individual and community potential and create a more inclusive and prosperous society.

Associate Professor Jo-An Occhipinti is Co-Director of the Mental Wealth Initiative and Head of Systems Modelling & Simulation at the Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney. She serves as Managing Director of Computer Simulation & Advanced Research Technologies (CSART) and Advisor to the international Brain Capital Alliance.

Dr Ante Prodan is a Computer Scientist and lecturer at Western Sydney University with an interest in reducing inequalities. He is also a Board Director of Computer Simulation & Advanced Research Technologies (CSART).

Professor William Hynes is a Senior Economist at the World Bank, an Honorary Professor of UCL (Rebuilding Macroeconomics) and a Fellow of the Santa Fe Institute.

Professor John Buchanan is Co-Director of the Mental Wealth Initiative and a senior academic in the Business Information Systems Discipline at the University of Sydney Business School. He is an expert in labour market structuring and its implications for skills and education.

Goran Ujdur is an experienced senior financial and real estate analyst currently completing his PhD on the topic of social production and mental health.

Professor Harris Eyre, MBBS, Ph.D., is the Fellow in Brain Health at the Center for Health and Biosciences. As a physician and neuroscientist, he is dedicated to enhancing the brain health of nations to achieve economic stability and improve national security.

Image credit:  Gpoint Studio