Overview
- INDEC, which released the March reading on Thursday, reported monthly costs of $515,236 for under 1, $616,046 for ages 1–3, $538,587 for ages 4–5, and $676,431 for ages 6–12.
- The measure adds the price of essentials such as food, transport, school and health to the economic value of the hours spent on care.
- For goods and services it uses the Greater Buenos Aires Basic Basket, and for care it prices the hours using the domestic worker rate for the “assistance and care of persons” category.
- The technical sheet assigns age-specific care time, such as 147 hours a month for a baby, which helps explain why totals differ by age group.
- The release came as INDEC reported 3.4% inflation for March and a 9.4% rise for the first quarter, and the basket also feeds social policy discussions.