Economic Inequality

Citation:

Umejesi, Ikechukwu. 2014. “Amnesty, Patriarchy and Women: The ‘Missing Gender’ Voice in Post-Conflict Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.” Gender & Behaviour 12 (1): 6223–37.

Author: Ikechukwu Umejesi

Abstract:

On 25 June 2009, the Federal Government of Nigeria declared amnesty for all armed groups fighting against the Nigerian state and oil producing companies in the Niger Delta region. The amnesty project spelt out a triple program of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of the militant groups. In other words, the program was designed to end the conflict and reintegrate the militants into the society through an economic empowerment process. While the amnesty program was hailed as "reconciliatory", "compensatory" and a "sustainable solution" towards achieving lasting peace in the restive region, the program seems to benefit only men who constitute the bulk of the militants and their commanders. It does not take into consideration the socio-ecologic and economic losses suffered by women throughout the course of the struggle. This paper asks: where are the women? Is the amnesty program an empowerment project or an entrenchment of patriarchy in the Niger Delta region? Using both primary and secondary sources, this article examines these questions as a way of understanding government's amnesty policy and its gender dynamics.

Keywords: Niger Delta, conflict, amnesty, women, patriarchy, Gender, militants

Topics: Armed Conflict, DDR, Economies, Economic Inequality, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2014

Citation:

Ogwumike, Fidelis O., and Uche M. Ozughalu. 2014. "Interactions among Poverty, Access to Modern Energy Sources, and Gender in Nigeria." The Journal of Developing Areas 48 (4): 225-41.

Authors: Fidelis O. Ogwumike, Uche M. Ozughalu

Abstract:

This study examines the interactions among poverty, access to modern energy sources and gender in Nigeria. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression technique are used. The 2010 Nigeria Living Standard Survey data set obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics is used. The findings of the study show, among other things, that contrary to what happens in many countries of the world, both incidences of poverty and lack of access to modern energy sources are more pronounced among male-headed households than among female-headed households. The logistic regression estimates show, among other things, that poverty reduces the odds in favor of having access to modern energy sources and while female headship of household reduces the odds in favor of being in poverty, it increases the odds in favor of having access to modern energy sources. The forgoing should serve as invaluable guide to the Nigerian government and policy makers.

Keywords: poverty, modern energy sources, Gender, logit model, Nigeria

Topics: Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Gender, Households, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2014

Citation:

Fofana, Ismaël. 2015. "Gender Analysis of the Policy Responses to High Oil Prices: A Case Study of South Africa." Feminist Economics 21 (3): 216-40. doi: 10.1080/13545701.2015.1023330 

Author: Ismaël Fofana

Abstract:

The 2007–8 surge in oil prices has created concern about its impacts on poor and vulnerable populations in developing countries. Government management of the energy crisis was shown to be important in reducing adverse impacts. This study uses an applied general equilibrium framework to examine alternative policy and external shocks with the recent surge in oil prices in South Africa through a gender lens. Simulation results show that although the 2007–8 energy crisis contributed to slowing down South African gross domestic product (GDP) growth and reducing employment and earnings, the distributional impact between men and women has been neutral. This neutrality is driven by an increase in capital inflows, which has mitigated the exchange rate depreciation owing to the oil price hike. Without an increase in capital inflows, the crisis would have significantly depreciated the exchange rate and contributed to decreasing women's market opportunities and increasing women's workload as compared to men.

Keywords: energy policy, Gender, household economics, Time use

Topics: Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Governance, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 2015

Citation:

Tsikata, Dzodzi, and Joseph Awetori Yaro. 2014. “When a Good Business Model Is Not Enough: Land Transactions and Gendered Livelihood Prospects in Rural Ghana.” Feminist Economics 20 (1): 202–26.

Authors: Dzodzi Tsikata, Joseph Awetori Yaro

Abstract:

Recent large-scale commercial agriculture projects in developing countries have raised concerns about the effects on natural resource-based livelihood activities of local people. A significant weakness in the emerging literature is the lack of a gender perspective on implications for agrarian livelihoods. This article explores the gendered aspects of land transactions on livelihood prospects in the Northern Region of Ghana. Drawing on qualitative research from two commercial agriculture projects, the article examines how pre-existing gender inequalities in agrarian production systems, as well as gender biases in project design, are implicated in post-project livelihood activities. The article concludes that a good business model of a land deal, even one that includes local communities in production and profit sharing, is not sufficient to protect women's livelihood prospects if projects ignore pre-existing gender inequalities and biases, which limit access to opportunities.

Keywords: business model, commercial agriculture, commons, Gender, land tenure, livelihoods

Topics: Agriculture, Economies, Economic Inequality, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2014

Citation:

Author: Katy Jenkins

Abstract:

This critical review argues that the experiences and perspectives of women in relation to the extractive industries have often been absent from analysis of the impacts of mining in the global South. This paper therefore explores the ways in which women in developing countries are affected by the expansion of extractive industries, bringing together a dispersed literature, scattered across disciplines and relating to geographically diverse locations, in order to provide a comprehensive overview of key debates in relation to women and mining, and generate momentum for a new research agenda in this area. The review concentrates on four key intersecting areas – women as mineworkers; the gendered impacts of mining, and specifically the disproportionately negative impacts on women; women's changing roles and identities in communities affected by mining; and finally gendered inequalities in relation to the benefits of mining.

Keywords: women, mining, gendered inequalities, mining impacts, development

Topics: Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality

Year: 2014

Citation:

Gunawardana, Samanthi J. 2016. “‘To Finish, We Must Finish’: Everyday Practices of Depletion in Sri Lankan Export-Processing Zones.” Globalizations 13 (6): 861-875.

Author: Samanthi J. Gunawardana

Abstract:

The integrative dynamic between social reproduction (SR) and the market economy is underscored by the everyday experience of what can be termed ‘depletion’ for many women in the Global South. Drawing upon case study material from Sri Lanka, this paper focuses on migration decisions to work in export-processing zones (EPZs) and everyday production processes. It shows how workplaces are sites of depletion. Depletion reproduces the processes of disposability in global factories. Relations of SR are also reproduced in the factory. Affecting body and mind, depletion flourishes in environments without recourse to adequate inputs that maintain well-being including, but not limited to, leisure and rest, adequate wages, freedom of association, adequate nutrition, housing, and job security. In Sri Lanka, migration to EPZs was prompted by a crisis in SR and lack of inflows to sustain the well-being of women and households. Such workplaces are also an everyday day element of the global political economy, enacted upon gendered bodies, fuelling a cycle of gendered harm through the reproduction of disposability. 

Keywords: depletion, export, processing zone, Gendered harm, Sri Lanka, social reproduction

Topics: Civil Society, Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Gender Equality/Inequality, Political Economies Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2016

Citation:

Author: Ragnhild Overå

Abstract:

Topics: Economies, Economic Inequality, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2017

Citation:

Krishnaraj, Maithreyi. 1997. “Gender Issues in Disaster Management: The Latur Earthquake.” Gender, Technology and Development 1 (3): 395–411.

Author: Maithreyi Krishnaraj

Abstract:

This study maintains that the impact of disasters depends on the nature and intensity of the event, but in all cases the impact varies according to the degree of vulnerability of the social groups that constitute the affected population. Women, being more socially and economically vulnerable than men in most societies, are more severely affected than men. This article highlights the gendered impact of the earthquake and the bias against women in the management of the earthquake in Latur, India.

Topics: Class, Economies, Economic Inequality, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 1997

Citation:

Bairagi, Radheshyam. 1986. “Food Crisis, Nutrition, and Female Children in Rural Bangladesh.” Population and Development Review 12 (2): 307–15.

Author: Radheshyam Bairagi

Abstract:

Although almost all nations show lower female than male mortality, Bangladesh and certain other developing countries show higher female mortality rates. Among children aged 1 to 4 in Bangladesh, female mortality rates are 45% higher for girls than for boys. This paper examines whether 1) sex biased attitudes toward nutrition (as expressed in terms of food intake) are more marked during food crises, and 2) these biases are related to the socioeconomic status of the family. The study measured weight and height of approximately 1400 children aged 1 to 4 in Bangladesh from April 1975 (10 months after the famine began) through December 1976 (14 months after the famine ended). The findings clearly indicate that sex and social status are strong correlates of nutritional status. Children of higher status families with larger homes fared better throughout the time period. Within each status category, boys fared better than girls. While poor families were harder hit by famine than wealthier ones, male-female nutritional discrimination was stronger among the higher classes. These differences were accentuated during the famine period. Policy makers and planners in Bangladesh must be made aware that such sex biases exist and that these patterns are exacerbated during food shortages. (NCBI)

Topics: Class, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Food Security, Gender, Girls Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 1986

Citation:

Costa, Monica. 2017. Gender Responsive Budgeting in Fragile States: The Case of Timor-Leste. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Author: Monica Costa

Annotation:

Topics: Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender Budgeting, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance Regions: Oceania Countries: Timor-Leste

Year: 2017