Levy Institute-UNDP Projects
The Impact of Public Employment Guarantee Strategies on Gender Equality and Pro-poor Economic Development: India and South Africa
The recent financial turmoil has brought with it worldwide acceptance of the fact that, when markets fail, government intervention is indispensable. One manifestation of market failure, within the sphere of production, is the inability of private sector investment to absorb surplus labor. In such instances, government ought to intervene as the employer of last resort, pursuing a policy of public job creation, which is particularly beneficial in promoting inclusive growth and preventing the marginalization of poor, unskilled people. In addition to physical infrastructure, areas that have immense potential to create much-needed jobs include social service delivery and social infrastructure.A recent study, "Impact of Public Employment Guarantee Strategies on Gender Equality and Pro-poor Development," carried out by the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and the United Nations Development Programme suggests that by bringing together public job creation and unpaid work, well-designed employment guarantee policies can promote job creation, gender equality, and pro-poor development, thus contributing toward achieving all Millennium Development Goals. The study focuses on experiences from two employment guarantee programs: the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in South Africa, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in India. The Levy Institute–UNDP study was carried out under the direction of Senior Scholar Rania Antonopoulos. Documents relating to the South Africa and India case studies are available below.
| SOUTH AFRICA | INDIA |
The Levy Institute Measure of Time and Income Poverty
In addition to income inadequacies, the Levy Institute Measure of Time and Income Poverty (LIMTIP) accounts for, and hence makes visible, the negative impact time deficits exert on living standards. Furthermore, this innovative measure builds on the supposition that, within the household, women and men do not partake equally in meeting household production requirements, nor do they face identical time deficits. Accordingly, to assess inequalities between households and among individuals within households requires that we consider differentiation jointly across both income and household production dimensions. For that, it is imperative to understand how labor force participation and earnings interact with time dedicated to household production responsibilities. Such an understanding is particularly important for formulating policies that promote gender, social, and economic justice coherently and consistently. The support of the United Nations Development Programme Regional Service Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly the Gender Practice, Poverty, and Millennium Development Goals areas, made the development of the LIMTIP framework possible.For more info: The Levy Institute Measure of Time and Income Poverty
Events Organized with UNDP Support
- Levy Institute–GEM-IWG Seminar and Conference on Gender, Macroeconomics, and International Economics, October 2011
- LIMTIP Workshop on Why Time Deficits Matter: Policy Implications for Poverty Eradication Strategies, August 2011 LIMTIP Workshop on Why Time Deficits Matter: Policy Implications for Poverty Eradication Strategies, February 2011
- Levy Institute–GEM-IWG Conference on Gender and the Global Economic Crisis, July 2009
- Levy Institute–GEM-IWG Seminar on Gender and the Global Economic Crisis, Summer 2009
- Employment Guarantee Policies: Responding to the Current Economic Crisis and Contributing to Long-Term Development, June 2009
- Unpaid Work and the Economy: Gender, Poverty, and the Millennium Development Goals, October 2005
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