Feminist Macroeconomics: Modelling and Measurement
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 3:15 PM – 5:15 PM
Swissotel Chicago, Montreux 3
- Chair: Randy Albelda, University of Massachusetts-Boston
Are Macroeconomic Policies Gender Neutral?
Abstract
Are macroeconomic policies gender neutral?Feminist-Heterodox Theorizing about Globalization
Abstract
Feminist-heterodox theorizing about globalizationIncome Distribution, Gender Equality and Public Spending: A Synergy for Decent Work and Growth
Abstract
In this paper we develop a post-Kaleckian feminist demand-led growth model, which includes gender-specific variables, and analyse the effects of a change in female and male wage rate on: i) employment of men and women, and ii) distribution of wage income between men and women. Furthermore, we explore the impact of public investment on easing these tensions and bringing about more equal income distribution, while generating employment. Insights from a large body of work contribute to the understanding of how constraints could be relaxed to promote broadly shared growth. Building on this work from a feminist perspective, we highlight the relationship between income equality, including gender equality, and economic growth, by exploring how inequality between men and women in employment can influence the rate of economic growth, investment and employment. The model aims to provide a theoretical basis to test stylised facts from the literature which point out that public investment in social infrastructure reduces women’s care burden, while enabling them to spend more time in paid work. On the one hand resources spent on children increase (with positive spill-over effects on human capital investment), and on the other hand aggregate demand is stimulated. Likewise, targeted public investment can leverage private investment towards the same end. Each of these effects produces a set of scenarios illustrating the conditions under which an economy can lead to gender-equal growth, with inclusive, gender-responsive budgeting. This theoretical model can form the basis for the empirical analysis of gender equality and fiscal policy on growth and employment of men and women and serve a powerful tool for policy analysis to overcome structural constraints that perpetuate gender inequality, and transform gender norms, through a more equitable distribution of income with long run effects.Keywords: gender, inequality, macroeconomics, aggregate demand
Discussant(s)
James Heintz
, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Stephanie Seguino
, University of Vermont
JEL Classifications
- B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches
- E0 - General