The Challenges of Measuring the Value of Infrastructure from a Gendered Lens

Infrastructure is a key component of any economy. It acts as an enabler of inclusion and higher productivity and a catalyst in ensuring access to opportunities and quality of life. It also plays a key role in achieving environmental goals, with sectors such as energy, mining, and transportation infrastructure being a big part of the emissions system. Currently, there is no internationally agreed-upon definition of infrastructure, and different countries produce estimates largely informed by functional interpretations of what can be measured in infrastructure. The dominant definition is informed by the agendas of large economies, focusing on transport, energy, mining, telecommunications, water, waste, and sewerage. Further, there is no agreement of what is “green” infrastructure. As a result, what is measured in National Accounts as infrastructure varies, leading to mismeasurement of economic and social activity, resulting in a patched, biased understanding of development and persistent economic and social inequalities. The lack of agreed definitions offers opportunities and challenges. In this chapter, I assess different definitions of infrastructure and how these may differently affect growth and gender inclusion potential, by virtue of what is included/excluded in the measurement. To contrast this, I present an augmented definition of infrastructure, beyond the dominant definition of infrastructure that disadvantages low income and emerging economies, by placing more emphasis on social infrastructure (healthcare, childcare, care of the elderly, education). This has a dual impact: (i) social infrastructure, being human-capital intensive, has a lower carbon footprint than physical investment, and (ii) it can contribute to the decolonialization agenda with the development of awareness and empowerment via education and the long-term effects of productivity. This is examined from a feminist perspective by placing emphasis on why social infrastructure matters, as a vehicle for better access to opportunities and lower social and economic inequality.