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Gender bias and central bank policy: employment and inflation reduction

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  • Elissa Braunstein
  • James Heintz

Abstract

This article considers the employment costs of inflation reduction in developing countries from a gender perspective. We explore two broad empirical questions: (1) what is the impact of inflation reduction on employment, and is the impact different for women and men, and (2) how are monetary policy indicators (e.g. real interest rates) connected to deflationary episodes and gender-specific employment effects? We find a common pattern among countries undergoing what we term contractionary inflation reduction, or periods of declining inflation that are accompanied by a loss of formal employment. After controlling for long-term employment trends, we find that the ratio of women's to men's employment tends to decline during these periods in the majority of countries examined. During the fewer periods of expansionary inflation reduction, however, there are no clear patterns to the relative changes in women's and men's employment. Maintaining competitive exchange rates seems to counterbalance the gender-biased effects of contractionary inflation reduction episodes, however.

Suggested Citation

  • Elissa Braunstein & James Heintz, 2008. "Gender bias and central bank policy: employment and inflation reduction," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 173-186.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:22:y:2008:i:2:p:173-186
    DOI: 10.1080/02692170801889643
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gerald Epstein, 2003. "Alternatives to Inflation Targeting Monetary Policy for Stable and Egalitarian Growth: A Brief Research Summary," Working Papers wp62, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    2. Laurence Ball, 1994. "What Determines the Sacrifice Ratio?," NBER Chapters, in: Monetary Policy, pages 155-193, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Louis-Philippe Rochon & Guillaume Vallet, 2022. "The institutions of the people, by the people and for the people? Addressing central banks' power and social responsibility in a democracy," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 75(301), pages 83-102.
    2. Epstein, Gerald., 2009. "Rethinking monetary and financial policy : practical suggestions for monitoring financial stability while generating employment and poverty reduction," ILO Working Papers 994344393402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. Tabitha Knight, 2015. "Macroeconomic Policies, Paradigms, and Constraints on Equality and Growth," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(2), pages 394-398, June.
    4. Neyer, Ulrike & Stempel, Daniel, 2019. "Macroeconomic effects of gender discrimination," DICE Discussion Papers 324, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    5. Cuellar, Cecilia Y. & Moreno, Jorge O., 2022. "Employment, wages, and the gender gap in Mexico: Evidence of three decades of the urban labor market," Latin American Journal of Central Banking (previously Monetaria), Elsevier, vol. 3(2).
    6. Gerald Epstein, 2007. "Central banks as agents of employment creation," Working Papers 38, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    7. Michael Berlemann, 2012. "Who Cares about Inflation? Empirical Evidence from the Czech Republic," Czech Economic Review, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, vol. 6(3), pages 225-243, October.
    8. Elissa Braunstein, 2013. "Central bank policy and gender," Chapters, in: Deborah M. Figart & Tonia L. Warnecke (ed.), Handbook of Research on Gender and Economic Life, chapter 21, pages 345-358, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Gerald Epstein, 2009. "Rethinking Monetary and Financial Policy: Practical suggestions for monitoring financial stability while generating employment and poverty reduction," Published Studies ilo_epstein11_09, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    10. Eckhard Hein, 2017. "Post-Keynesian macroeconomics since the mid 1990s: main developments," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 14(2), pages 131-172, September.
    11. Erten, Bilge & Metzger, Martina, 2019. "The real exchange rate, structural change, and female labor force participation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 296-312.
    12. repec:ilo:ilowps:434439 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Neyer, Ulrike & Stempel, Daniel, 2021. "Gender discrimination, inflation, and the business cycle," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    14. Guillaume Vallet, 2021. "Great Power, Great Responsibility: Addressing the Underestimated Issue of Central Bank’s Social Responsibility," Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, Central bank of Montenegro, vol. 10(3), pages 23-39.
    15. Marjan Petreski & Stefan Tanevski & Alejandro D. Jacobo, 2024. "Monetary Policy and the Gendered Labor Market Dynamics: Evidence from Developing Economies," Papers 2402.05729, arXiv.org.
    16. Stephanie Seguino, 2013. "From micro-level gender relations to the macro economy and back again," Chapters, in: Deborah M. Figart & Tonia L. Warnecke (ed.), Handbook of Research on Gender and Economic Life, chapter 20, pages 325-344, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Seguino, Stephanie, 2006. "The Road to Gender Equality: Global Trends and the Way Forward," MPRA Paper 6510, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Stempel, Daniel & Neyer, Ulrike, 2019. "The Effects of Gender Discrimination in DSGE Models," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203556, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    19. Kanbur, Ravi, 2014. "Globalization and Inequality," Working Papers 180163, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    20. Stephanie Seguino & Maureen Were, 2014. "Gendered Perspectives on Economic Growth and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-056, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    21. Anil Bolukoglu & Tugce Gozukucuk, 2024. "Tourism development and women employment: A study on the European union countries," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(2), pages 442-456, March.
    22. Diouf, Ibrahima & Pépin, Dominique, 2017. "Gender and central banking," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 193-206.

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