This book, part of the series Routledge/UNRISD Research in Gender and Development, delves into the gendered impacts of neoliberal reforms by using two approaches: comparative country case-studies, and reform-focused evaluation of the theoretical predictions and empirical evidence. Country cases include Chile, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan Province of China, Uruguay and Viet Nam, which provide useful evidence for assessing the various debates on gender and trade liberalization.
It is now well recognized that men and women are affected differently by policies and processes associated with economic development. In particular, between the 1980s and 1990s when most developing countries adopted policies based in neoliberal economics, it has become more obvious that gender-blind macroeconomic models tend to bring social injustice and economic crisis as well. Especially harmful has been the high international mobility of capital, including foreign direct investment, which, in many developing countries, has made it difficult to close gender wage gaps and has made policy makers more reluctant to enforce labour laws that could improve the well-being of workers. Moreover, financial liberalization has subjected domestic policies to the short-term decision-making horizons of financial markets, resulting in restrictive monetary and fiscal policies that undermine well-being as well as putting economies at risk of macroeconomic instability.
Contributors to this book argue that in order to achieve gender-equitable well-being, it is crucial to adopt reforms at the multilateral and national levels to regulate international capital flows and labour standards, and to release domestic policy from the short time horizons that are used to evaluate financial capital flows.
Notes to editors
- The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) was created in 1963 and is an autonomous UN agency engaging in multidisciplinary research on the social dimensions of contemporary problems affecting development. Through its research, UNRISD stimulates dialogue and contributes to policy debates on key issues of social development within and outside the UN system.
- Günseli Berik is Associate Professor of Economics and Gender Studies at the University of Utah. Her recent research focuses on international trade, labor standards and gender wage inequality. Yana van der Meulen Rodgers is Associate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University. Her research encompasses gender, labour markets, and trade. Ann Zammit is a development economist who now works independently. Her previous working career included university teaching in the UK and Chile, policy-oriented work for the OECD, OAS and UNRISD, and policy work for the Government of Malta.
Contents:
Engendering Development Strategies and Macroeconomic Policies: What's Sound and Sensible?;
G. Berik and Y. van der Meulen Rodgers
The Road to Gender Equality: Global Trends and the Way Forward;
S. Seguino
Making Policy Work for Women: Gender, Foreign Direct Investment and Development;
E. Braunstein
Chile Under a Gender Lens: From Import Substitution to Open Markets;
R. Todaro
Changes in Economic Policy Regimes in Uruguay from a Gender Perspective, 1930-2000;
A. Espino and P. Azar
Growth with Gender Inequity: Another Look at East Asian Development;
G. Berik
The Gender Implications of Macroeconomic Policy and Performance in Malaysia;
A. Doraisami
Gender Dimensions of Viet Nam's Macroeconomic and Structural Reform Policies, 1975-2005;
L.A. Tu Packard
Social Justice and Gender Equality is copublished with Routledge, in the series Routledge/UNRISD Research in Gender and Development; hardback; ISBN: 978-0-415-95651-2; 274 pages; 2008; USD 95.00. To order, click
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