Social Provisioning as a Starting Point for Feminist Economics

Citation:

Power, Marilyn. 2004. “Social Provisioning as a Starting Point for Feminist Economics.” Feminist Economics 10 (3): 3–19.

Author: Marilyn Power

Abstract:

The past decade has seen a proliferation of writing by feminist economists. Feminist economists are not identified with one particular economic paradigm, yet some common methodological points seem to be emerging. I propose making these starting points more explicit so that they can be examined, critiqued, and built upon. I use the term ‘‘social provisioning’’ to describe this emerging methodology. Its five main components are: incorporation of caring and unpaid labor as fundamental economic activities; use of well-being as a measure of economic success; analysis of economic, political, and social processes and power relations; inclusion of ethical goals and values as an intrinsic part of the analysis; and interrogation of differences by class, race-ethnicity, and other factors. The paper then provides brief illustrations of the use of this methodology in analyses of US welfare reform,gender and development, and feminist ecological economics.

Keywords: social provisioning, welfare reform, gender and development, feminist political economics, feminist ecological economics, feminist methodology

Topics: Class, Development, Economies, Care Economies, Feminist Economics, Ethnicity, Feminisms, Feminist Political Economy, Gender, Race Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2004