Fellow
Shortrunners,
For centuries, macroeconomic analysis of development has been largely gender-blind. This is a travesty which is just now beginning to change. For example, in many countries around the world, household work is not counted in monetary terms. This creates an illusion to economists as well as divorce lawyers that females are in some way not involved in economic processes. It is more typical for females (especially those in developing nations) to engage in household work. These activities include everything from childcare to education, ensuring proper nutrition to clothing and home maintenance. Economists have come to refer to this sort of labor as socially reproductive labor.
Current macroeconomics is often begun with a discussion of overlapping generation models. Nonetheless, they often fail to account for how labor is reproduced. An acceptance of the economic links between this socially reproductive sector and the conventional productive sector implies that household labor cannot simply be seen as surplus or ignored in economic analysis. With increasing gender awareness in macroeconomics, better mechanisms may be found to control population growth. Understanding of feedback effects might help shape more effective policies which limit the social impact of women spending less working hours in the reproductive sector.
In many parts of the world, women are trapped into working in the household sector. Girls find themselves looking up to their mothers as role models who work in the household or cultivating crops and develop similar skills to provide for "social reproduction." In this sense, many women are deprived of the opportunities which accompany education and life outside the home. In many cases, control of the family's resources (entitlements) are grossly unequal. The husband tends to have a much larger entitlement and thus controls spending.
This is depressing because it not only pushes women out of the family decision making process, but it tends to have a negative impact on childcare. Women in the greater part of the world tend to spend a larger portion of their budget on "household investment," that is spending on children's education and wellbeing. In especially poor regions this even means more spending on basic foods and essentials. Because males tend to spend more of the budget on goods which we could call consumer expendables, the family's budget is more heavily allocated in this direction. The implication then is that, if development policies could be crafted which would serve to equalize the family's control of resources, then future generations would benefit from higher levels of health and education.
Sincerely,
Daniel Hicks
Economic Releases
The data section
provides charts and data for the most important economic indicators.
Personal Income: 0.4%
- Personal income rose 0.4% in March, accompanied by a corresponding rise of 0.4% in consumption activity. Both figures dropped from April where they again had run parallel at 0.6%. Disposable income, or a measure of income after taxes, rose 0.5% and suggests that consumers are in a healthy position to continue to contribute to economic growth. The saving rate rose to a more healthy 2.2%.
ISM Non-Manufacturing: 55.3%
- The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index showed strength in April, coming in at 55.3%. The only real significant component that showed weakness was the employment sector.
ISM Manufacturing: 53.9%
- The Manufacturing ISM release suggested that the United States manufacturing sector is continuing to recover from recession. Like the non-manufacturing index, measured employment declined. A deceleration in the growth rate of new orders was the principle change from April and contributed to the index's fall.
Consumer Confidence: 108.8
- During April, the Conference Board's Index of Consumer Confidence fell to 108.8 from the previous month's 110.7. The softening in levels of consumer confidence was partially a result of weaker labor markets and tighter budgets.
Jobless Claims: 418,000
- New unemployment claims last week totaled 418,000. No one seems to really place any weight on jobless claims figures these days though, because of recent confusion with re-filers. Instead, look to the overall unemployment figure which is telling a clear story of labor market weakness.
Unemployment: 6.0%
- The headline unemployment figure rose to an unexpectedly high 6.0% in April from March's figure of 5.7%. The economy added jobs, but not nearly as quickly as the labor pool itself was expanding, leading to the increase in the unemployment rate. Continued weakness should help to strengthen a case for leaving interest rates unchanged in the short-term.
ECRI Weekly Leading Index: 122.2
- The ECRI Weekly Leading Index rose to 122.2 last week. As reported by businesscycle.com, its growth rate has steadied at 4.2%. The index is still suggesting economic recovery.
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