Gender Economics (UG)

This course provides a critical overview of economic theories, methods and economic policy-debates from a gender perspective. The course is designed to cover major debates in gender economics relevant to developed and developing countries. The course analyses orthodox economic theory and provides students with a gender-critique. The course will also offer students the chance to explore alternative feminist economic theory and apply these different theoretical understandings to concrete examples in the real world.

The course covers the following topics:

• Gender and the History of Economic Thought
• Gender and the Household
• Women, Gender and Labour Market Processes
• Selected Topics in Gender and Development
• Macroeconomics and Gender

Prerequisites

(153400123) Macroeconomic Analysis

OR

(153400130) Microeconomic Analysis

( Note : For BSc Economics and BSc Development Economics students both these courses are core courses in year 2 of their degrees, but BA two-subject degree students can only take EITHER of these two courses in their year 2)

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

On successful completion of the course, a student should be able to demonstrate the ability to:

• Demonstrate a general understanding of the theoretical debates surrounding the construction of gender and gender relations in the discipline of economics.
• Critically examine and assess mainstream and heterodox economic theories and policies from a gender perspective.
• Evaluate the ways in which current economic realities in developed and developing countries have different effects on men and women.
• Identify the connections between feminist economic theory and feminist economic reality in developed and developing countries.
• On the basis of a solid understanding of alternative, gendered economic theory, propose alternative policies that address gender- inequalities in different economic spheres.

Method of assessment

• Essay outline: 10%
• Essay: 50%
• Oral Presentation: 20% (resubmission regulations do not apply)
• Group Project: 20% (resubmission regulations do not apply)

Suggested reading

Core Reading

• Beneria, L2003. Gender, Development and Globalisation. Economics As If All People Mattered. New York: Routledge
• Jacobsen, J 2007. The Economics of Gender . Cambridge:Wiley Blackwell.
• Rai, S. and G. Waylen (eds). 2014. New Frontiers in Feminist Political Economy . London. Routledge.

Additional Reading

• Barker, D.K. and Feiner, S.F. 2004 Liberating Economics: Feminist Perspectives on Families, Work, and Globalization . Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• Jackson, C. and R. Pearson (eds) 1998. Feminist Visions of Development: Gender Analysis and Policy , London and New York: Routledge
• Kabeer, N. 1994, Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought . London Verso
• Nelson, J. 1995, Feminism, Objectivity and Economics . London: Routledge.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules