SS 166: GENDER AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Spring 2010
MW 2:30 -3:50, FPH 107
Instructor: Smita Ramnarain
Office: FPH 201
Office Hours: Mondays 4:00 –
5:00
Wednesdays 4:00 – 5:00
or by appointment
Email: smrSS@hampshire.edu
Course Website: https://athena.hampshire.edu/S301036/index.php
This course examines the
processes, politics and policies of development from a gender perspective. The
course takes as its starting point the assumption that the term ‘development’
must be understood within a historical and political context. An exploration of
the political and historical content of development also involves an
investigation into the ‘omissions’ and ‘commissions’ of development, i.e. what
contemporary understandings of development have ignored or have privileged. A
consideration of gender in economic development is one such ‘omission’ that
this course aims to discuss in detail.
In the first part of this
course we establish the theoretical and policy context for our study of gender
and development, and look into the ways in which this field of study has
evolved over the past few decades. Some of the important theoretical and measurement
issues that arise with respect to defining women’s empowerment, studying the
household and accounting for unpaid labor will also be looked at within this
first part. In the second part of the course examine the (often uneven) impact
of various aspects of development on men and women, and on gender relations. In
this latter section, we also look at some of the important debates within this
field. Some of the things we cover in this part of the course will be the
evidence on the relationship between growth and gender equality; feminist
evaluations of macroeconomic policy; and the determinants and effects of
women’s access to labor markets, credit markets and property. We will also look
at some of the ways in which women’s movements have responded to development
policies across the third world.
The course is appropriate for
students interested in working in the area of international development, for
economics majors who would like an advanced introduction to the growing
literature on gender and development, and for women’s studies majors who work
in the social sciences.
The course has the following
objectives:
1. To examine the historical
and political context within which development has evolved, what development
has come to represent and mean, and national and international
political/economic contexts within which development policies are formulated
and implemented.
2. To understand the
theoretical debate about gender relations and to look into gender relations in
development historically (including an analysis of ‘traditional’ gender
relations in the pre-colonial times, and the impact of colonialism on gender
relations in the Third World).
3. To look into the emergence
of conceptual frameworks proposed that integrate women/gender into development.
4. To study empirical
literature on the differential impact of development on women and men, on the
continued marginalization of women and women’s work in various sectors of the
global economy, and on the interaction of gender with class, caste and race to
produce specific contexts of oppression.
5. To make connections
between theory and practice and think about how future development agendas may
be shaped to reflect feminist concerns.
6. To explore alternative
visions and initiatives for engendering development.
The following text is
available for purchase:
*Gender, Development and
Globalization by Lourdes Beneria, New York: Routledge, 2003.
I will also be using short
pieces from the book below:
*The Women, Gender and
Development Reader, edited by Nalini Visvanathan, Lynn Duggan, Laurie
Nisonoff and Nan Wiegersma, London: Zed Books, 1997. We will refer to this book
as the Reader henceforth. Copies of the Reader are placed in Reserve. Articles
selected from the Reader will also be posted on the course website along with
other readings.
Most of the readings in the
syllabus below are ‘classic’ articles within the field that have appeared in
various journals over the years. Luckily for us, these articles and many more
have been collected together in the following edited volumes.
Gender and Development:
Theoretical, Empirical and Practical Approaches, Vols. I and II, edited by Lourdes Beneria and
Savitri Bisnath, Edward Elgar Publishers, 2003.
However, these two volumes
are only available in an extremely expensive hardcover version so rather than
ask you to buy them, they have been placed on reserve in the library, and
posted on the course website.
All other required readings
are included in the course website.
Five 5-6 page assignments: 50%
Attendance and Class
participation: 15%
Brief presentation of reading
in class: 10%
Final paper: 25%
Students are expected to have
completed the assigned readings and to have spent some time thinking and
reflecting critically upon them. Thoughtful and informed class discussions will
help all of us to learn more!
Each of you will also be
asked to make a brief presentation (5-10
minutes) on an article on the syllabus and present to the class comments and questions
for discussion based on that paper. I will also ask you to post a brief version
of the comments/questions beforehand on a forum, so that others can have a
chance to critically reflect upon them before class.
In place of a midterm exam, you
will be asked to write five different 5-6 page assignments/papers over the
course of the semester. These papers will give you the opportunity to intervene
in particular debates and evaluate the readings from your own perspective.
You will be asked to submit a
10-15 page final paper on any relevant topic of your choice. The final paper
can be a literature review or a piece of original research. Please feel free to
discuss possible topics with me before deciding upon one. I will ask you to
submit a paper outline to me midway through the semester. Your final paper will
be due on May 6th.
* There are five assignments in this course. All
papers need to be submitted in hard copy in class ON the due date.
The final paper is also due on May 6th in hard copy. Please be
careful to note the submission dates for the short assignments and the final
paper. Late submissions will be
penalized for each day late.
* Please specify sources clearly and provide complete
citations when writing papers. Any material used in the paper (quotes, data,
paraphrased information) that has not been appropriately cited will be
considered plagiarized material. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and
entails serious consequences for a student who is found to have plagiarized
material for assignments and papers. Here is the link to Hampshire policy on
matters pertaining to academic ethics. http://www.hampshire.edu/shared_files/ETHICS_OF_SCHOLARSHIP.pdf
* Starred readings are essential. Please read them before
coming to class so that you can contribute to in-class discussions.
* All starred readings are fair game for assignments
and exams. Other readings are not required, but useful to consult when writing
papers (especially the final paper should you decide to write on a topic in the
syllabus).
* Attendance is, needless to say, required. Two
excused absences, for valid reasons, will be allowed in the course of this
session. Any more absences are to be considered unexcused (regardless of
reason) and will likely affect class participation grade. This is really not
out of a desire to be unreasonable. Class notes are invaluable to tackle
assignment and exam questions. Plus, the course is structured in a way that
emphasizes participation and discussion. Indeed, this element constitutes 15%
of the grade. So, come to class! Really!
* While I might not take attendance in every class, I
will randomize taking attendance. If you are absent for a particular class
(without being excused) and that happens to be the class in which I take
attendance, I will be taking away points regardless of what the reason for your
absence is, or how sincere you have been with your work otherwise.
See below.
PART I: THE THEORETICAL AND POLICY CONTEXT
I. Introduction to the course
January 27: No assigned
reading.
II. Understanding Changing Development Policy
February 1:
1. Evolving Development Policy: From
State-led Policies to Neo-liberal Growth
* Peet, R. with E. Hartwick
(2009), Chapters 2 and 3, Theories of
Development, Second Edition, Guilford Press, p. 23 – 97.
February 3:
2. The “Post-Washington Consensus”:
Engendering Development and the Millennium Development Goals
* Stiglitz, J. (2004), “The
Post Washington Consensus Consensus,” Initiative for Policy Dialogue Working
Paper. Available online at http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/ipd/pub/Stiglitz_PWCC_English1.pdf
* Engendering Development
Report (2001), World Bank Policy Research Report, Summary only, p. 1-29. Full
report can be downloaded from
III. From Women in Development (WID) to Gender and
Development (GAD)
February 8:
* Rathgeber, E. M. (1990), “WID, WAD, GAD: Trends in
Research and Practice,” Journal of Developing Areas 24: 489-502.
* Kabeer, N. (1994), “Connecting, Extending,
Reversing: Development from a Gender Perspective,” Chapter 4, Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in
Development Thought, Verso, p. 69 – 94.
Elson, D. (1993) (reprinted 2003), “Gender-Aware
Analysis and Development Economics,” in Gender and Development: Theoretical,
Empirical and Practical Approaches, Vol. I, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, p.
181 – 191.
Tinker, I. (1997), “The
Making of a Field: Advocates, Practitioners and Scholars,” abbreviated version
in Reader, p. 33 – 42.
Beneria, L. and G. Sen
(1997), “Accumulation, Reproduction and Women’s Role in Economic Development:
Boserup Revisited,” abbreviated version in Reader, p. 42 – 51.
Young, K. (1997), “Gender and
Development,” abbreviated version in Reader, p. 51 – 54.
Kabeer, N. (1994), Chapters 2
and 3, Reversed Realities: Gender
Hierarchies in Development Thought, Verso, p. 11 – 68.
World Bank (2003), Report on Gender Equality and the Millennium
Development Goals. Available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGENDER/Publications/20169280/gendermdg.pdf
IV. A Feminist Approach to Gender and
Development
February 10:
* Beneria, L. (2003), “The
Study of Women and Gender in Economics,” Chapter 2 in Gender, Development, and Globalization, New York: Routledge, p. 31
– 62.
* Jackson, C. and Pearson,
R. (1998), Introduction - “Interrogating development: Feminism, Gender and Policy”
in Jackson, C. and Pearson, R. (eds.) Feminist Visions of Development:
Gender Analysis and Policy, London: Routledge, p. 1 – 16.
* Seiz, J. (1999),
“Feminism(s)” in Peterson, J. and Lewis, M. (eds.) The Elgar Companion to
Feminist Economics,
Handout: Patriarchy
V. A Closer Look at the Household as a Unit of
Analysis
February 15:
1. The Neoclassical Model of the
Household and Critique
* Koopman, J (1991) (reprinted
2003), “Neoclassical Household Models and Modes of Household Production:
Problems in the Analysis of African Agricultural Households,” in Gender and
Development: Theoretical, Empirical and Practical Approaches, Vol. I, Cheltenham:
Edward Elgar, p. 419 – 444.
* Katz, E. (1991) (reprinted
2003), “Breaking the Myth of Harmony: Theoretical and Methodological Guidelines
to the study of Rural Third World Households,” in Gender and Development:
Theoretical, Empirical and Practical Approaches, Vol. I, Cheltenham: Edward
Elgar, p. 399 – 418.
Agarwal, B. (1997) (reprinted
2003), “‘Bargaining’ and Gender Relations: Within and Beyond the Household” in Gender
and Development: Theoretical, Empirical and Practical Approaches, Vol. I, Cheltenham:
Edward Elgar, p. 445 – 495.
Wolf, D. (1990) (reprinted
2003), “Daughters, Decisions and Domination: An Empirical and Conceptual
Critique of Household Strategies,” in Gender and Development: Theoretical,
Empirical and Practical Approaches, Vol. I, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, p.
367 – 398.
February 17: Advising Day –
No Class
February 22:
2. Guest Lecture: An Empirical
Application of Intra-household Bargaining – Migration in Ghana
Assignment 1 due in class today.
VI. Accounting for Women’s Unpaid Labor
February 24:
* Beneria, L. (2003), Chapter
5 in Gender, Development and
Globalization, New York: Routledge p. 131-160
* Floro, M. S. (1995) (reprinted 2003), “Women’s
Well-Being, Poverty, and Work Intensity,” in Gender and Development: Theoretical, Empirical and Practical
Approaches, Vol. I, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, p. 272-296.
* Akram-Lodhi, H. (1996), “‘You are not Excused from Cooking’: Peasants and the
Gender Division of Labour in Pakistan,” Feminist Economics 2(2), p. 87-105
March 1:
Movie: Who’s Counting:
Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics (abbreviated to 60 or so
minutes)
PART II: DEVELOPMENT ISSUES THROUGH THE LENS OF GENDER
VII. Growth and Gender Inequality
March 3:
* Elson, D “Talking to the
Boys: Gender and Economic Growth Models,” in R. Jackson and C. Pearson (eds.) Feminist Visions of Development: Gender Analysis and Policy,
London: Routledge, p. 155 – 170.
* Dollar, D., and R. Gatti (1999),
“Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth: Are Good Times Good for Women?”
Policy Research Report on Gender and Development Working Paper Series, No. 1.
Washington, D.C.: World Bank. Available at http://darp.lse.ac.uk/frankweb/courses/EC501/DG.pdf
Seguino, S. (2000), “Gender
Inequality and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis”, World Development 28
(7): 1211-1230.
Klasen, S. (1999), “Does
Gender Inequality Reduce Growth and Development? Evidence From Cross-Country
Regressions,”
Black, S. E. and E. Brainerd (2002), “Importing Equality? The Impact of
Globalization on Gender Discrimination,” NBER Working Paper No. 9110. Available
at http://papers.nber.org/papers/W9110
Seguino, S. (2000),
“Accounting for Asian Economic Growth: Adding Gender to the Equation.” Feminist
Economics 6(3): 27-58.
Assignment 2 due in class today
VIII. Gender and Macroeconomic Policy
1.
The Gendered Impacts of Economic Crises
March 8:
*
Deere, C. D., P. Antrobus, H. Safa (1997), “Impact of the Economic Crisis on
Poor Women and Their Households”, in Reader, p. 267-277.
*
Perez-Aleman, P. (1992), “Economic Crisis and Women in Nicaragua,” in L. Beneria
and S. Feldman (eds.), Unequal Burden:
Economic Crises, Persistent Poverty and Women’s Work, Boulder: Westview
Press, p. 239 – 258.
* Seguino, S.
(2009), “The Global Economic Crisis, Its Gender Implications, and Policy
Responses,” Paper prepared for Gender Perspectives on the Financial Crisis
Panel at the Fifty-Third Session of the Commission on the Status of Women,
United Nations, March 5. Available at http://www.economicsofcrisis.com/Readings/Seguino.pdf
Arizpe, L. et. al. (1987),
“Effects of the Economic Crisis on the Living Conditions of Peasant Women in
Levine, D. I. and M. Ames
(2003), “Gender Bias and The Indonesian Financial Crisis: Were Girls Hit
Hardest?” Center for International and Development Economics Research,
University of California, Berkeley, Working Paper 130. Available at http://129.3.20.41/eps/dev/papers/0407/0407005.pdf
Corbacho, A., M.
Garcia-Escribano, and G. Inchauste (2007), “Argentina: Macroeconomic
Crisis and Household Vulnerability,” Review
of Development Economics 11(1):
92–106.
Floro, M. and G.
Dymski (2000), “Financial Crisis, Gender and Power: An Analytical
Framework,” World Development 28(7): 1269-1283
2. Structural Adjustment Policies and
Gender Implications
March 10:
*
Elson, D. (1991), “Male Bias in Macroeconomics: the Case of Structural
Adjustment,” in D. Elson (ed.) Male Bias
in the Development Process, Second Edition, Manchester University Press, p.
164 – 190.
* Haddad,
L. et al. (1995). “The Gender Dimensions of Economic Adjustment Policies:
Potential Interactions and Evidence to Date” in Gender and Development:
Theoretical, Empirical and Practical Approaches, Vol. II., Cheltenham: Edward
Elgar, p. 341-356.
Sparr, P. (1994), Chapter 2
in P. Sparr (ed.) Mortgaging Women’s
Lives: Feminist Critiques of Structural Adjustment, Zed Books, p. 13 – 30.
Manuh, T. (1994), Chapter 4
in P. Sparr (ed.) Mortgaging Women’s
Lives: Feminist Critiques of Structural Adjustment, Zed Books, p. 61 – 73.
Beneria, L. (1999),
“Structural Adjustment Policies,” in J. Peterson and M. Lewis (eds.), The Elgar Companion to Feminist Economics,
Parrado, E. A. and R. M.
Zenteno (2001), “Economic Restructuring, Financial Crises, and Women’s
Work in Mexico,” Social Problems
48(4): 456-477.
3. Gender Budgeting: Tools to Engender
Fiscal Policy
March 22:
* Budlender, D. (2000),
“Political Economy of Women’s Budgets in the South” in World
Development, Special Issue on Growth, Trade, Finance, and Gender
Inequality 28 (7).
* Çağatay, N. (2003),
“Gender Budgets and Beyond: Feminist Fiscal Policy in the Context of
Globalization,” Gender and Development 11(1): 15-24.
Grunberg, I. (1998), “Double
Jeopardy: Globalization, Liberalization, and the Fiscal Squeeze,” World
Development 26(4): 591-605.
Stotsky, J. (1997), “Gender
Bias in Tax Systems,” Tax Notes International, June 9, 2002:1913-23.
Çağatay,
N., M. Keklik, R. Lal, J. Lang (2000), “Budgets As If People Mattered,” SEPED
Conference Series. Available online at http://www.iskran.ru/cd_data/disk2/rr/044.pdf
Palmer, I. (1995), “Public
Finance from a Gender Perspective,” World
Development 23(11): 1981 – 1986.
4. Revising Macroeconomic Policies
March 24:
* Elson, D. and N.
Çağatay (2000), ‘The Social Content of Macroeconomic Policies” in World
Development Special Issue on Growth, Trade, Finance, and Gender Inequality 28 (7), p. 1347-64. Also available at http://csde.washington.edu/~scurran/files/readings/May19/Elson.%20Social%20Content%20of%20Macroeconomic%20Policies.pdf
Elson, D. (1995), “Gender
Awareness in Modeling Structural Adjustment,” World Development 23
(11): 1851 – 1868. Also available at http://hmb.utoronto.ca/Old%20Site/HMB303H/weekly_supp/week-12-13/Elson_GenderAwareness.pdf
Lockwood, M. (1992),
“Engendering Adjustment or Adjusting Gender? Some New Approaches,” Discussion
Paper No. 315, University of Sussex: Institute of Development Studies.
Assignment 3 due in class today
IX. Women in the Global Labor Force
1. Women in the International Division
of Labor
March 29:
Movie: The Global Assembly
Line (58 minutes)
Discussion
March 31:
* Beneria, L. (2003), Chapter
4 in Gender, Development and
Globalization. New York: Routledge, p. 91 – 108.
* Elson, D. and R. Pearson
(1997), “The Subordination of Women and the Internationalization of Factory
Production,” in Reader, p. 191 – 203.
Fernandez- Kelly, M. P.
(1997), “Maquiladoras: The View from the Inside,” in Reader, p. 203 – 215.
Lim, L. Y. C. (1997),
“Capitalism, Imperialism and Patriarchy: The Dilemma of Third World Women
Workers in Multinational Factories,” in Reader, p. 216 – 229.
Charusheela, S. (2003),
“Empowering Work? Bargaining Models Reconsidered” in Barker, D. and Kuiper, E. (eds.),
Towards a Feminist Philosophy of
Economics, New York: Routledge, p. 287 – p. 302.
2. Women and the Informal Sector
April 5:
* Beneria, L. (2003), Chapter
4 in Gender, Development and
Globalization. New York: Routledge, p. 108 – 130.
* Arizpe, L (1977), “Women in
the Informal Sector: The Case of Mexico,” in Signs 3(1): 25 – 37.
3. Emerging Markets in Domestic/Care
Labor
April 7:
* Pyle, J. L. (2006),
“Globalization, Transnational Migration, and Gendered Care Work: Introduction,”
Globalizations 3(3): 283 – 295.
* Parrenas, R. S. (2001),
Chapter 3, “Migrant Filipina Domestic Workers and the International Division of
Reproductive Labor,” in M.K. Zimmerman, J.S. Litt, C.E. Bose
(eds.) Global
Dimensions of Gender and Carework, Stanford: Stanford University Press, p.
48 – 61.
X. Reproductive Rights and Population Policy
April 12:
Movie: Something Like a War
(60 minutes)
Discussion
1. Population Policy and Development
April 14 and April 19:
* Hartmann, B. (1995“The Plan
Behind Family Planning”),
“Introduction”, “Security and Survival”, “The Malthusian Orthodoxy”, and
“A Womb of One’s Own,” “The Plan Behind Family Planning” in Reproductive Rights and Wrongs, Second
Edition, South End Press, p. Xv-xxi, p. 3 – 56, p. 57 – 72 and p. 289 – 303.
Footnotes: p. 315 – 323, p. 323 – 325 and p. 364 – 365.
* Petchesky, R. P. (1995),
“From Population Control to Reproductive Rights: Feminist Fault Lines,” Reproductive Health Matters 3(6): 152 – 161.
2. The Globalization of Reproductive
Technologies
* Storrows, R.F. (2005), “Quests
for Conception: Fertility Tourists, Globalization and Feminist Legal Theory,” Hastings Law Journal 57: 295 – 330.
*
Haworth, A., “Surrogate Mothers: Wombs for Rent,” Marie Clair. Available at http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/news/international/surrogate-mothers-india
Assignment 4 due in class today
XI. Gender and Asset Inequality
April 21:
* Agarwal, B. (1994) (reprinted
2003), “Gender and Command over Property: A Critical gap in Economic Analysis
and Policy in South Asia”, in Gender and Development: Theoretical, Empirical
and Practical Approaches, Vol. II., Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, p. 518 – 541.
* Jackson, C. (2003), “Gender Analysis
of Land: Beyond Land Rights for Women?” Journal
of Agrarian Change 3(4): 453 – 480.
Deere, C.D and M. Leon
(2003), “The Gender-Asset Gap: Land in Latin America,” World Development
31(6): 925 – 947.
Agarwal, B. (2003), “Women's Land Rights and the Trap of
Neo-Conservatism: A Response to Jackson,” Journal of Agrarian Change 3(4): 453 – 480.
Deere, C. D. and M. Leon (2001), Empowering Women: Land and Property Rights in Latin America,
University of Pittsburg Press, p. 1 –
32.
XII. Women’s Access to Credit Markets
April 26:
* Goetz, A. M. and R. Sen Gupta (1996) (reprinted
2003), “Who Takes the Credit? Gender, Power, and Control over Loan Use in Rural
Credit Programs in Bangladesh,” in
Gender and Development: Theoretical, Empirical and Practical Approaches,
Vol. II, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, p. 94 – 112.
* Kabeer, N. (2001),
“Conflicts over Credit: Re-evaluating the Empowering Potential of Loans to
Women in Rural Bangladesh,” World Development 29(1): 63 – 84.
Kabeer, N. (2005), “Is
Microfinance a ‘Magic Bullet’ for Women’s Empowerment? Analysis of Findings
from South Asia,” Economic and Political Weekly, October 29th,
p. 4709 – 18.
Everett, J. and M. Savara
(1983), “Bank Loans to the Poor in Bombay: Do Women Benefit?” in Gelpi,
Hartsock, Novak, Strober (eds.) Women and
Poverty, University of Chicago
Press.
Mayoux, L. (2000), “Micro-Finance and the
Empowerment of Women,” Geneva: ILO. Available at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/finance/download/wpap23.pdf
Morduch, J. (2000), “The
Microfinance Promise,” Journal of
Economic Literature 37(4): 1569
– 1614.
Fernando, J.L. (2006), “Introduction: Microcredit and Empowerment of Women:
Blurring the Boundary between Development and Capitalism” in Fernando, J.L.
(ed.), Microfinance: Perils and Prospects,
New York: Routledge, p. 1 – 42.
Rankin, K.N. (2006), “Social capital, Microfinance, and the Politics of
Development” in J. L Fernando (ed.) Microfinance:
Perils and Prospects, New York: Routledge, p. 89 – 111.
XIII. Gender and the Environment
April 28: Guest
Lecture
Readings, if any, will be
announced in the course of the semester.
* Agarwal, B. (1992), “The
Gender and Environment Debate: Lessons from India,” Feminist Studies 18 (1):
119-158.
Rocheleau, D. and S. Edmunds
(1997), “Women, Men and Trees: Gender, Power and Property in Forest and
Agrarian Landscapes,” World Development
25 (8): 1351-1371.
Assignment 5 due in class today
XV. Women, NGOs and Grassroots Movements around
Development
May 3:
Movie: WSF: Another World is
Possible (24 minutes)
* Molyneux, M. (1998),
“Analyzing Women’s Movements” in C.
Jackson and R. Pearson (eds.) Feminist Visions of Development: Gender
Analysis and Policy, London: Routledge, p. 65 – 88.
* Susser, I. (1997), “Women
as Political Actors in Puerto Rico: Continuity and Change”, in Reader, p. 374 –
378.
* Kim. S. (1997), “Women
Workers and the Labor Movement in South Korea”, in Reader, pp. 378 – 381.
XVI. The Post-Colonial Critique and Summing Up
May 5:
* Mohanty, C. T. (1988), “Under
Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses,” Feminist Review 30: 61 – 88.
* Beneria, L. (2003), Chapter
6 in Gender, Development and
Globalization, New York: Routledge, p. 161 – 169.
FINAL PAPER due on MAY 6, by 5:30 p.m.