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Does Trade Liberalisation Leave Women Behind in South Africa. Presented by Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu, HSRC, EPD unit J. Cockburn, B. Decaluwé, M .Chitiga-Mabugu, I. Fofana and R. Mabugu. Outline Background and Motivation Trade reform experiment and key findings Policy implications.
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Does Trade Liberalisation Leave Women Behind in South Africa Presented by Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu, HSRC, EPD unit J. Cockburn, B. Decaluwé, M .Chitiga-Mabugu, I. Fofana and R. Mabugu
Outline Background and Motivation Trade reform experiment and key findings Policy implications
Background and motivation Macroeconomic policy reforms (and their differentiated impacts on women and men) are of crucial importance to all countries Macroeconomic policies and gender poverty and inequalities have become a growing concern in developing countries
Background and motivation • Women are more vulnerable to chronic poverty, because of gender inequalities in the distribution of income, access to productive inputs, asset management, and the labor market (World development reports 2000 and 2001) • That is why it is important to integrate household production and gender in the analysis of macroeconomic policies effects
Background and motivation Poverty indexes by gender and age in 2000 IES
Background and motivation Gender Time Allocation in Year 2000
Background and motivation Distribution of male and female market work
Background and motivation Distribution of male and female market work (continue)
Background and motivation Unemployment rate (official definition) by race and gender (2001)
Background and motivation Mean monthly income by gender (1999)
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings South Africa is member of World Trade Organization since 1995 and since 1969 participates to the Southern Africa Custom Union South Africa has also a number of bilateral trade ties, mainly in the form of free trade areas (FTA). The European Union – South Africa FTA (agreed in 2000) There are other planned FTAs with India, Brazil etc.
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings • Substantial reductions in the number of tariff lines and bands and maximum tariff rates • Tariff barrier constitute the principal protectionist measure in South Africa (Other policy measures against free trade are still in place)
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings Simulation involves the complete elimination of all import tariffs
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings Results Trade and output effects Penalize the initially highly protected sectors Favour the export-intensive and high input-used sectors
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings Employment and wage effects Stronggender bias against women with a decrease in their labor market participation, while men supply more labor in the market
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings Male workers derive substantially more labour income from the expanding sectors (export-oriented and high input used sectors) Female workers are penalized by their greater participation in garments, as well as health and social work, the contracted sectors Employment and wage effects
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings Time re-allocation effects Increase the labour market participation of male workers, while female workers market activities fall The existing gender bias against women in labour market participation increases
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings Male workers increased their labour market participation and reduced their domestic work participation The existing gender bias towards women performing domestic work accentuates
Trade liberalization scenario and key findings Income distribution effects Men continue to contribute more to household income Reducing the bargaining power of women in their households
Policy implications Non uniform compensatory taxes that favour female intensive sectors and poor households would help to reduce gender inequalities Complementary fiscal and non fiscal policies to reduce time burden on women through measures that save time or improve the productivity of time use (access to education, land, credit, information, help centres, and technology)
