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Austerity Measures in Developing Countries: Public Expenditure Trends and the Risks to Children and Women

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  • Isabel Ortiz
  • Matthew Cummins

Abstract

This study examines how austerity measures may have adversely affected children and women in a sample of 128 developing countries in 2012. It relies on International Monetary Fund (IMF) fiscal projections and IMF country reports to gauge how social assistance and other public spending decisions have evolved since the start of the global economic crisis. The study finds that most developing countries boosted total expenditures during the first phase of the crisis (2008--09); but beginning in 2010, budget contraction became widespread, with ninety-one governments cutting overall spending in 2012. Moreover, the data suggest that nearly one-quarter of developing countries underwent excessive fiscal contraction, defined as cutting expenditures below pre-crisis levels. Governments considered four main options to achieve fiscal consolidation -- wage bill cuts/caps, phasing out subsidies, further targeting social safety nets, and reforming old-age pensions -- each of which would be likely to have a disproportionately negative impact on children and women.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabel Ortiz & Matthew Cummins, 2013. "Austerity Measures in Developing Countries: Public Expenditure Trends and the Risks to Children and Women," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 55-81, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:19:y:2013:i:3:p:55-81
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2013.791027
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Roman Mogilevsky, 2011. "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Public Health Expenditures in the Economies of the Former Soviet Union," CASE Network E-briefs 09, CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research.
    2. John M. Piotrowski & David Coady & Justin Tyson & Rolando Ossowski & Robert Gillingham & Shamsuddin Tareq, 2010. "Petroleum Product Subsidies; Costly, Inequitable, and On the Rise," IMF Staff Position Notes 2010/05, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Isabel Ortiz & Matthew Cummins, 2011. "Austerity Measures Threaten Children and Poor Households: Recent Evidence in Public Expenditures from 128 Developing Countries," Working papers 1107, UNICEF,Division of Policy and Strategy.
    4. Isabel Ortiz & Jingqing Chai & Matthew Cummins, 2011. "Escalating Food Prices: The threat to poor households and policies to safeguard a Recovery for All," Working papers 1101, UNICEF,Division of Policy and Strategy.
    5. World Bank, 2012. "World Development Indicators 2012," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6014.
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    7. Alexander Chubrik & Roman Mogilevsky & Irina Sinitsina & Marek Dabrowski, 2011. "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Public Expenditures on Education and Health in the Economies of the Former Soviet Union," CASE Network Reports 0100, CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research.
    8. Jingqing Chai & Isabel Ortiz & Xavier R. Sire, 2010. "Protecting Salaries of Frontline Teachers and Health Workers," Working briefs 1002, UNICEF, Division of Policy and Strategy.
    9. Isabel Ortiz & Jingqing Chai & Matthew Cummins & Gabriel Vergara, 2010. "Prioritizing Expenditures for a Recovery for All: A Rapid Review of Public Expenditures in 126 Developing," Working papers 1007, UNICEF,Division of Policy and Strategy.
    10. Irina Sinitsina, 2012. "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Education Services in Economies of the Former Soviet Union," CASE Network E-briefs 04, CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research.
    11. Isabel Ortiz & Jingqing Chai & Matthew Cummins, 2011. "Identifying Fiscal Space:Options for Social and Economic Development for Children and Poor Households in 184 Countries," Working papers 1108, UNICEF,Division of Policy and Strategy.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Abdul‐Rahim Mohammed, 2022. "Discretion on the frontlines of the implementation of the Ghana School Feeding Programme: Street‐Level Bureaucrats adapting to austerity in northern Ghana," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(1), pages 33-43, February.
    3. Yelda Yücel, 2015. "Response to the crisis and gender segregation in Turkey’s labour market," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(2), pages 276-295, June.
    4. Samantha Greenspun & Nora Lustig, 2013. "Gendered Fiscal Incidence Analysis. A Review of the Literature," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 76, Tulane University, Department of Economics.

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