Macro-economics making gender matter: Concepts, policies and institutional change in developing countries

The gender approach is entering mainstream economics. The discipline is increasingly examining macro-economic theories and policies in the light of their differential impact on men and women. This volume, with its wide-ranging theoretical explorations and specific case studies, seeks to make a contribution to this process. This book makes clear that systematic gender biases are present at all levels - in institutions, markets and the household - and presents options for introducing social structures to the macro-economic agenda. The intention is to offer a new framework that brings economic theory and policy-making close to the circumstances and motivations of real life economic agents. The contributors cover three broad areas - macro-economics and gender, gender and the state, and the institutionalization of gender considerations in national and international organizations. Using original empirical material, in particular from Latin American countries, they explore a wide range of key issues. These include the gender-differentiated effects of economic policy and public spending decisions;unpaid household labour and its measurement;gender statistics;gender equality in planning and public policy;and the notion of economies as gendered structures. With backgrounds in a variety of disciplines, the authors go beyond a theoretical debate and place the practical realities of policy making centre stage. Their work should be relevant to development research and activity worldwide, while being particularly valuable in its emphasis on how state reform processes can advance a democratic development for women and men on equal terms.