In this paper the author critically discusses neoclassical and feminist challenges to standard neoclassical approaches to institutions by focusing on analyses of the role of gender equity in economic growth. Feminists argue that the exercise of power and collective action are central to the evolution of gender hierarchies. Neoclassical treatments largely focus on the inefficiency of gender inequity, and how market imperfections discourage institutional change. Starting with a review of gender in neoclassical growth theory, the article moves from traditional theories of factor accumulation to the new growth theory literature which contends that institutions like gender matter for growth. Then feminist/heterodox political economy is examined, focusing primarily on the macroeconomic literature, concluding with some thoughts on the evolution of the sexual division of labour. The primary context of this discussion is development and the processes of industrialization in the late twentieth century, as that is the focus of much of the growth literature.
The International Working Group on Gender, Macroeconomics and International Economics (GEM-IWG) 07/4 Working Paper Series www.genderandmacro.org
