Sara Cantillon et al., "Feminist Political Economy: A Global Perspective" (Agenda, 2023)
Dec 16, 2024
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Odile Mackett, a senior researcher from South Africa, and Sara Stevano, an economics lecturer in London, delve into their groundbreaking work on feminist political economy. They discuss the critique of traditional economic methodologies and highlight the importance of understanding social reproduction beyond household roles. Topics include the feminisation of poverty and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on care work. They advocate for integrating feminist perspectives to address inequalities and inform policy design, emphasizing the need for a nuanced approach in contemporary economic research.
Feminist political economy challenges traditional approaches by revealing gender disparities in household dynamics and resource allocation.
The concepts of social reproduction and care are essential for understanding societal regeneration, influencing policy discussions on welfare and caregiving.
Deep dives
Understanding Within Household Inequalities Through a Feminist Lens
Feminist political economy challenges traditional approaches by focusing on inequalities within households, rather than solely between them. This perspective highlights the complexities of household dynamics, revealing that power relations and resource allocation often reflect gender disparities. By utilizing qualitative and quantitative data that capture the voices and experiences of all household members, researchers can better understand individual needs and outcomes. This shift in analyzing data has significantly influenced social science research and policy-making, ensuring that diverse perspectives are considered in economic analysis.
The Intersection of Social Reproduction and Care
The concepts of social reproduction and care are crucial in understanding the full scope of feminist political economy, as they encompass the work necessary for the regeneration of society. While both concepts often appear similar, they serve different functions and address distinct needs within feminist literature; care focuses on relationships between caregivers and recipients, while social reproduction addresses broader societal functions. Recent scholarly interest in social reproduction reflects a growing dissatisfaction with current economic systems, leading to renewed emphasis on its role in intersecting inequalities. Understanding these concepts contributes significantly to policy discussions about welfare and the caregiving sectors.
Global Perspectives on Feminist Political Economy
Examining feminist perspectives in political economy allows for a more nuanced understanding of global issues such as poverty and welfare regimes. These perspectives challenge dominant economic theories that often overlook social hierarchies and the experiences of marginalized groups. By integrating diverse methodological approaches, feminist political economy encourages critical re-thinking of traditional economic analyses, particularly in ways that impact policymaking. Furthermore, the dialogue between global north and south perspectives enriches the discourse, ensuring that broader socioeconomic contexts are considered in discussions about development.
Challenging mainstream narratives in political economy, the new book Feminist Political Economy: A Global Perspective(Agenda Publishing, 2023) serves as an introduction to a new era of critical research. It is written by Prof. Sara Cantillon, Dr. Sara Stevano and Prof. Odile Mackett, who have carried out incredible work to deconstruct gender-blind approaches in contemporary economic research. The book brings together the most important topics in political economy and demonstrates why feminist approaches are crucial to understanding social relations. It begins with an overview of feminist political economy and then offers a nuanced perspective on care, social reproduction, inequalities in households and labour markets, and the feminisation of poverty. As mentioned in the podcast, the book not only takes a feminist approach to theory, but is also an example of the practice of feminist research, focusing for example on female scholars.
The host, Sarah Vogelsanger, is a feminist researcher, who is interested in social justice, critical migration studies and political ecology.