MACROECONOMICS THROUGH A GENDER LENS

Transcription

1 MACROECONOMICS THROUGH A GENDER LENS Macroeconomics analysis of economy as a whole national output and income employment and inflation savings and investment imports and exports flows of money, labour and commodities stocks of assets households, firms, government Gender lens method of seeing that makes gender visible Gender system of social power constructed around biological sex differences analogy with race and ethnicity privileges heterosexual males intersects with class, race and ethnicity 1

2 GENDER-BLIND MACROECONOMICS treats labour as a non-produced factor of production treats households as merely consumption units ignores unpaid domestic care work ignores gender division of labour ignores inequalities within households BRINGING GENDER INTO MACROECONOMICS visions of the macroeconomy models of the macroeconomy gender-aware macroeconomic policy 2

3 USING THE GENDER AWARE MAP OF THE MACROECONOMY CUT IN PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN WATER AND SANITATION job loss for men in public sector entry of more men and women into informal sector deterioration of water and sanitation services increase in women s unpaid domestic care work MEASURES TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY IN PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE increased patient through-put earlier discharge of patients increase in women s unpaid domestic care work TRANSFER OF COSTS TO DOMESTIC SECTOR 3

4 GENDER-AWARE MACRO MODELS Why bother with models? clarify direction and magnitude of key interactions identify data needs communicate with other economists influence policy making Types of models simple analytical econometric reduced form computable Bringing gender in disaggregate existing variables by sex introduce gendered variables introduce a gender sector combine 2 or more of above Examples in World Development November 1995 and July

5 DISAGGREGATE EXISTING VARIABLES BY SEX reallocation of male and female labour between tradable and non-tradable sectors analytical example: P.Collier et al (1994) Gender Aspects of Labour Allocation during Structural Adjustment in S.Horton, R.Kanbur, and D. Mazumdar (eds) Labor Markets in the Era of Structural Adjustment, World Bank. male and female human capital in new growth models econometric example: D.Dollar and R.Gatti (1999) Gender inequality, income and growth. Background paper for Engendering Development, World Bank Disaggregation approach is consistent with gender as a characteristic of individuals, not a system of social power consistent with representative agent microfoundations of macroeconomics consistent with mainstream macroeconomics -no unpaid domestic care work in the model 5

6 INTRODUCE GENDERED VARIABLES Recognise parameters of the model as potentially variable bearers of gender analytical example : Elson WD 1995 relates the value of capital/output ratios to the gender system, suggesting gender inequality in access to productive assets results in higher capital/output ratios Introduce new variables which represent the gender system econometric example: Seguino WD 2000 introduces the gender wage gap into an accounting for growth model for a group of semi-industrialised countries results: high growth associated with high gender wage gap 6

7 INTRODUCE A GENDER SECTOR add a vector of non-monetary gender equality variables interacting with a vector of monetary macroeconomic variables analytical example :Taylor WD 1995 gender equality variables could include per capita women s years of schooling, and women s labour force participation rate model analyses negative and positive feedbacks between the two vectors add an unpaid domestic care work sector, producing labour for the monetised economy, shaped by social norms rather than by money analytical example: Walters WD 1995 allows for depreciation of the stock of labour through stress 7

8 COMBINATION MODELS Analytical example:erturk and Cagatay WD 1995 New gendered macro variable : feminisation of the labour force F1 Unpaid domestic care work sector : time devoted by women F2 Investment is stimulated by feminisation of labour force Savings is raised when more time is spent on unpaid domestic care work Recovery from cyclical downturn requires impact of F1 on I is greater that impact of F2 on S 8

9 Computable example: Fontana and Wood WD 2000 extends a CGE model in two ways disaggregates labour by sex, with low elasticity of substitution of male and female labour adds a leisure sector and an unpaid domestic care work sector, assumed to behave in just the same way as monetised production sectors calibrates model with data from Bangladesh and simulates effects of policy changes eg introduction of export incentives results employment for women in manufacturing increases more than for men women s unpaid domestic care work falls, offsetting more than half the rise in women s manufacturing employment women s leisure time falls time spent by men in leisure and unpaid domestic care work falls 9

10 SOME QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION Terminology unpaid domestic care work? social reproduction? reproductive sector? non-sna work? important to distinguish from paid domestic work unpaid family labour homework Measuring and modelling unpaid care work monetary equivalent- just another sector? time use-a qualitatively different sector? 10

11 Gendered macro variables gender wage gap? feminisation of poverty female share of decent work? savings? investment? Gender disaggregations What kind of macro models full employment equilibrium models with markets that always clear? unemployment models which allow for social norms and social power How useful are models in policy advocacy 11

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