Austerity Policies, Public Expenditure, and Development from a Gender Perspective: What Is the Status of Mexican and Brazilian Women?
This article examines the impact of austerity policies on gender inequality in Mexico and Brazil. More specifically, it seeks to discuss the need to reconcile public expenditure with a development strategy that actually includes a gender perspective. The feminization of poverty is of partic...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Economists' Association of Vojvodina
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Panoeconomicus |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/1452-595X/2020/1452-595X2003385M.pdf |
| Summary: | This article examines the impact of austerity policies on gender inequality
in Mexico and Brazil. More specifically, it seeks to discuss the need to
reconcile public expenditure with a development strategy that actually
includes a gender perspective. The feminization of poverty is of particular
interest, as it is the basis upon which we try to outline the socioeconomic
conditions in which Mexican and Brazilian women live with regards to
progress, setbacks, and challenges. Thus, a brief explanation of the term
austerity is provided with the purpose of reflecting on the limitations and
opportunities that public expenditure might have in terms of gender
inequality. Then, basic economic statistics concerning the dynamics of
economic growth and public expenditure are included and certain key
variables revolving around gender gaps in both countries are examined.
Finally, we offer a diagnosis of the consequences of poverty on the female
population in order to identify the leeway that public expenditure focused
on gender should have for the most vulnerable population sector. The purpose
is to promote development policies based on greater equality. In summary, as
a result of the study, we observe that public expenditure intended at
fighting against poverty (female-male) had considerable success in the case
of Brazil, but not in the case of Mexico. However, in both countries, the
recent deepening of austerity policies could limit the efforts of public
expenditure on the feminization of poverty in particular, and on gender
inequalities in general. |
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| ISSN: | 1452-595X 2217-2386 |