Gender in International Political Economy (GIPE)

Objectives

To critically analyse the International Political Economy approach from a Gender and International Political Economy perspective and suggest how we might address the fit or lack of fit between the two frameworks.
To develop methodologies which allow for a more systematic understanding of the impact global restructuring has had and is having on gender relations in various regions of the world
To analyse conceptually, theoretically and empirically the relationship between trade, finance and social reproduction
To craft policy relevant recommendations with respect to adopting gender-inclusive policies at various levels of governance (especially the EU and the WTO)
To produce a book on Gender in International Political Economy designed to use as an introductory text for members of GARNET.

Description of work

We aim at the systematic introduction of the structural category gender in the analysis of economic and social processes and its governance. The substantive focus will be on the commodification and privatisation of public services as a process that has gathered speed since the establishment of the WTO. This process is highly contested, and will have great impact on gender relations. In the short run, privatization shifts the public-private balance through cutbacks in state expenditure thus changing the relation of exchange entitlements. In the longer run, privatization of public assets leads to changing resource entitlements. At the centre of the inquiry is the question how commodification/privatization of public services is linked to the liberalization of trade and investment in services covered in the GATS, and the reconfiguration of gender relations in different world regions. The point of departure from other studies is to synthesize the moments of finance and trade, power and social reproduction in the context of intensified globalization.

In this context, we will also emphasize knowledge production, since this focus will permit to move beyond the by now rather traditional impact assessment of policies on gender relations by looking at the processes of gendered knowledge production and their capacities to structure the policy formation discourses. The analysis will encompass the national, regional, and global level. Focusing on one level is insufficient since the levels are highly interrelated. In contrast to other regions, Europe’s commodification of public services is on average less advanced than in other industrialized countries.

The suggested themes combine four innovative fields: gender and international economics, the role of knowledge production in policy making, the balance between public and private economic activities, and the relations among different levels of governance.