IMF Working Papers

Effects of IMF-Supported Programs on Gender Inequality

By Theo S. Eicher, Reina Kawai Eskimez, Monique Newiak

December 6, 2024

Download PDF More Formats on IMF eLibrary Order a Print Copy
More formats on IMF eLibrary Order a Print Copy

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

Theo S. Eicher, Reina Kawai Eskimez, and Monique Newiak. "Effects of IMF-Supported Programs on Gender Inequality", IMF Working Papers 2024, 247 (2024), accessed January 15, 2025, https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400294297.001

Export Citation

  • ProCite
  • RefWorks
  • Reference Manager
  • BibTex
  • Zotero
  • EndNote

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

Crises often require economic consolidations that may unevenly affect different segments of the population. Some crisis countries enter financial arrangements with the IMF and adopt adjustment programs, and studies have associated program conditionality with negative impacts on gender inequality. Proper evaluations of the impacts of IMF-supported programs on gender inequality require, however, credible control groups that address the counterfactual: do post-crisis gender disparities evolve differently without an IMF-supported program? We examine over 150 IMF-supported programs (1994-2022) using custom-tailored control groups that match each IMF-supported program country’s gender and economic trends and find overwhelming evidence against systematic impacts of IMF-supported programs on gender equality.

Subject: Gender, Gender diversity, Gender inequality, Health, Labor, Labor force participation

Keywords: Adolescent Fertility, Crisis indicator, Economic Crisis, Education, Enrollment gender parity index, Female Labor Force Participation, Gender disparity, Gender diversity, Gender impact gap, Gender indicator, Gender Inequality, Gender inequality indicator, Global, IMF-supported programs, Impact gap, Labor force participation, Maternal Mortality, MONA database, Recovery economics, Root mean square, SCM bias-corrected gender impact gap

Publication Details

You May Also Be Interested In...

Corporate Sector Vulnerabilities and High Levels of Interest Rates

January 13, 2025

Sierra Leone: Report on Employment and Remuneration Matrices Mission (May 13–24, 2024)

January 8, 2025

Productivity Shocks to the Pharmaceutical Sector and the Danish Economy: Denmark

December 24, 2024

Republic of Kosovo: Selected Issues

December 23, 2024