Gender, poverty, and economic growth: public policies for different demographic situations

Mayra Buvinic, World Bank Group
Monica Das Gupta, World Bank Group

Much research has been done on gender inequalities and how they affect fertility and mortality outcomes on the one hand, and economic outcomes on the other. What is not well understood is the role that gender inequalities, embedded in the behavior of the family, the market and/or society, play in mediating the impact of demographic processes on economic outcomes. This paper examines the empirical evidence on how the impact of gender inequalities varies between different demographic settings, exacerbating the specific economic stresses associated with these settings, and reducing the prospects of gaining when demographic conditions improve. It also indicates how public policy needs to be tailored to the prevalent demographic conditions, in order to reduce the constraints that gender inequalities impose on poverty reduction and economic growth.