El género y el futuro de la macroeconomía: una perspectiva evolutiva

Gender lends itself well to an evolutionary analysis that focuses on nonequilibrium change and transformation for individuals within the society. Decomposition by such an important category as gender helps us achieve a better understanding of the economy at the macro level, and design a more suitable macroeconomic policy. It also provides the foundation for advocating equal gender rights and outcomes. But, where gendered policy issues arise in mainstream macroeconomics (income maldistribution, labour market composition, etc.), the subject matter is narrowed by its micro foundations, because it focuses on gross domestic product (GDP) growth and suboptimal outcomes being explained by market imperfections. An approach that takes gender seriously requires the different epistemology which arises from feminism: it does not rely on dualistic categorizations but builds on the idea of situated knowledge, which in turn requires a pluralist methodology and an acceptance of fundamental uncertainty. Such a methodology allows for emergent identity, the cognitive roles of emotion and social convention, and attention to power other than market power. To reflect on how limited is the scope for mainstream macroeconomics to address gender, and what is required of a useful alternative, a political economy approach provides a clear focus for a more general discussion of the future of macroeconomics from an evolutionary perspective.