Engendering Macroeconomic Policy and Budgets for Sustainable Human Development

Citation:

Elson, Diane, and Nilüfer Çagatay. 1999. Engendering Macroeconomic Policy and Budgets for Sustainable Human Development. New York: United Nations Development Programme. 

Authors: Diane Elson, Nilufer Cagatay

Annotation:

Summary:

In this paper we briefly discuss some resources relevant for developing the macroeconomics of people-centered development and identify issues for future research. We discuss recent research on gender and macroeconomics; and initiatives, both inside and outside government, to promote pro-poor and gender- and environment sensitive government budgets or what we would call budgets for Sustainable Human Development. We also identify areas where future research is required to improve the capacity to transform fiscal and monetary policy in ways that promote human development, through changing our understanding of how fiscal and monetary policy operate, taking into account the unpaid domestic economy that centres on care as well as the market based economy that centres on commodities. We also argue that macroeconomic policies that promote human development cannot simply consist of new technical exercises, which can present us with ready-made formulae applicable to every context. Democratizing the process of macroeconomic policy making is just as crucial to ensuring that macroeconomic policies serve the goal of human development.

(Paragraph from Elson, p.1)

Topics: Gender, Gender Budgeting Countries: South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe

Year: 1999