a f air s hare of the p ie or p ie in the s ky : t he b udget as an i nstrument of p ublic p olicy...
TRANSCRIPT
A FAIR SHARE OF THE PIE OR PIE IN THE SKY: THE BUDGET AS AN INSTRUMENT OF PUBLIC POLICY TOT on Gender Responsive BudgetingSponsored by UN WomenRussian Presidential Academy on the Economy and Public Administration Moscow, 18-22 June, 2012Sheila Quinn, Gender Specialist, Ireland
2
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
A FAIR SHARE OF THE PIE OR PIE IN THE SKY?
A radical concept – to consider that gender equality matters should be considered in the context of the budget
Gender equality is considered to be fundamental to human development that there should be no boundaries to finding the way to make it possible
This lecture will look at the response to GRB over the last 2 decades to demonstrate that the legitimacy of using the budget as a vehicle for progressing equality has been established.
3
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
THE KING’S PURSE – BUDJET (MIDDLE ENGLISH)
The King was in his Counting HouseCounting out his money.
The Queen was in the parlour,Eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the gardenHanging out the clothesAlong came a blackbird
And ……..
4
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
WHAT IS THE BUDGET?
A set of document, a set of laws, a plan for getting (revenue) and spending (expenditure)
The expression of the government’s fiscal policy
Government’s instrument to ‘correct’ the market, to impact on the economy
5
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
WHAT IS THE BUDGET?
Price stability, inflation control, golden rule, economic growth, crowding out, aggregate demand, capital investment, distribution of income
Economic aid, children’s allowance, price of shoes, prescription charges, community health services, price of petrol – even the price of a pint.
6
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
WHAT IS THE BUDGET?
The most important policy document
A reflection of the government’s priorities
Process involving a few – legislators and parliamentarian have limited input – public even less
To a large extent separate from policy making
7
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
THE COUNTING HOUSE – FORBIDDEN TERRAIN
Finance – the pinnacle of portfoliosElitism of economicsLimited number of decision-makersCertainly not for the social agendaLimited communication with other
departments Imbalance between involvement of
on independent advisers and non public representatives
8
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
TRADITIONAL VIEW OF THE BUDGET
Technical instrument of public finance management – value free, benefits all equally
Instrument of control – goal is to get optimum results – guided by concerns for economy and value for money
Competing priorities – scarce resources – need to ensure maximum public good
9
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
CONVENTIONAL MODEL OF ECONOMY
10
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
ASSUMPTIONS Households do not produce – merely consume Household treated as a unit – no cognizance of
bargaining roles within household Role of government is to redistribute income and
increase (if G is greater than T: deficit) or reduce (if T is greater than G: surplus) aggregate demand
Stock of natural resources, labour & social framework is taken for granted, required no work to maintain these resources
Economy is in equilibrium if savings + imports = investments plus exports
However, equilibrium does not guarantee full employment, absence of poverty & human development
11
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
INTRODUCING GENDER INTO THE MODEL
Elson examines elements of applying gender disaggregation into the models Proportion of government spend to male/female headed
firms Patterns of investment & export behaviour by gender Patterns of income generation by gender Proportion of national income to household by gender Patterns of saving and spending within household by
gender Taxes & transfer payments differences by gender
Limitations of this approach: No focus of interplay within households and within firms –
units Ignores domestic reproductive work + voluntary
& community work, ie. the unpaid care economy
12
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
CARE ECONOMY AS PART OF OUTPUT
Elson goes on to argue that it’s possible to incorporate the care economy into macroeconomic thinking by focusing on the circular flow of national output - as a product of the interaction of all three sectors:
Private sector commodity market Public service economy Household and community care economy
13
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
mINTERDEPENDENCE IN CREATION OF NATIONAL WEALTH
14
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
FLOW OF INCOME VS FLOW OUT OUTPUT However, care economy overburdened =
negative feedbacks to commodity and public service economies: work days lost, lower productivity due to ill
health, higher insurance costs, policing etc
Affect level of growth of output
This economists understand – recognise the need to invest in care economy either through public services or decent jobs
15
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
Much of investment in care economy is best supplied through public services free at the point of delivery – historically the improvement in production from care economy has come through improvements in public services
Public service economy financed by taxes on formal sector commodity economy
When taxes do not meet the required investment – budgetary strategies reducing investment in public services
Avoid the deficit theory – however deficit can have positive and negative effects – so can be managed
One negative of deficit is reduction in public services – but does this have to happen?
16
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
Investment in public sector services can have powerful positive impact on growth and thereby on private sector
Externalities: eg education raises productivity of individual but also others with whom that individual interacts (if I’m computer literate others save time by communicating with me via computer)
This implies that public expenditure on education should be treated as investment rather than consumption
17
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
A key issue of aggregate budgetary policy is the extent to which a budget deficit is sustainable
This is often determined by computer macroeconomic model to project outcomes based on variables
Answers will depend on assumptions fed in
How increase in monetary supply affect inflation; increased borrowing on interest rates, increased interest rates deter private sector investmen
Negative feedback to economy from overburdened care economy not built into such models
18
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
Other factors – less tangible impact sustainability of deficits: Climate of opinion, institutional structures
Organisation of financial markets and market sensitivity, organisation of wage negotiations, co-operative or competitive responses to budget, social bargaining
Social framework of norms, rules, values – social capital – assumed to be constant
19
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
mECONOMIC THEORY – POLICY MAKING Budget-making essentially a political
exercise, based on public best interests & priorities
However, economic theorising (based on market interests & priorities) has gained a foothold
Autonomous economic man, golden rule, deadweight loss and displacement, deficit=bad, surplus=good
20
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
CHANGES IN ECONOMIC THINKING
Some economists are beginning to pay attention to social capital – impact of rapid deflation and inflation on goodwill and acceptance of social norms which are recognised as necessary for functioning of economies
However, they do not connect the maintenance of social capital to women’s unpaid work in the care economy
21
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
MOVEMENT TOWARD REFORM OF BUDGET GOVERNANCE
Countries are motivated by considerations of transparency and efficiency
The trend away from line item budgeting variations, including activity-based budgeting,
programme budgeting, outputs and outcomes budgeting.
• Broadly the approach involves the incorporation of performance information in the budget process, thus seeking to influence budget decisions.
22
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
MOVEMENT TOWARDS PERFORMANCE BUDGETING
Aim is to allocate more money to activities that produce wanted results and less to those than do not.
Idea is that government should budget for actual or expected results – outputs and outcomes, rather than for inputs (personnel, supplies etc.
Budget system should link increments in spending to increments in results
23
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING AS PART OF THE REFORM PROCESS IN AUSTRIA
Constitutional budgetary principle as of 2013: Outcome orientation including gender budgeting
Integrated approach: Gender dimension is considered on all budget management levels such as strategy report (medium term), budget chapters, global budgets etc
Does not mean to allocate separate budgets for men & women
Implementation of gender mainstreaming in budgeting Requires gender analysis definition of objectives formulation of activities in order to achieve the objectives,
and monitoring
24
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
EQUALITY OR EXPEDIENCY
Every country, every company in the world is looking for growth wherever they can find it. It’s coming from the emerging markets … We historically think of those emerging markets as India and China and many others. But it is clear that women are an emerging market - DeAnne Aguirre, Snr VP, Booz & Company
By increasing women’s participation in the economy and enhancing their efficiency and productivity, we can bring about a dramatic impact on the competitiveness and growth of our economies – Hilary Clinton
25
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
EQUALITY OR EXPEDIENCY
“Forget China, India and the internet: economic growth
is driven by women.”
The Economist
26
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
WOMEN AS CENTRAL TO POVERTY REDUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Central and developing tenet of development thinking
International law points directly to all economic means, including the budget as a method of expediting equality
Gender Mainstreaming in place, but without a focus on spending gender mainstreaming is a blunt instrument
Without a focus on gender the budget as an instrument of redistribution is a blunt instrument
27
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
GRB AS LIBERATOR
Framing gender issues in terms of an economic discourse, gender budgeting 'liberates' gender (and gender mainstreaming) from the 'soft' social issues arena and raises it to the level of macroeconomics, which is often thought of as technical, value-free and gender-neutral. Holvoet, Nathalie, (2006) Gender Budgeting: Its Usefulness in Programme-Based Approaches to Aid, EC Gender Help Desk
28
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
THE BUDGET AS AN INSTRUMENT OF GENDER EQUALITY
Scores of budget initiatives all over the world Multilateral and intergovernmental
organisations pushing for budget reform Consensus between the two camps Several countries with legal obligation to
produce women’s budget statement Several countries legislated for GRB
Countries with positive duty to promote equality, including through budget process
29
sheila
gquin
n@
gm
ail.co
m
THE BUDGET AS AN INSTRUMENT TO ADVANCE EQUALITY
The Counting House is no longer forbidden terrain