Abstract

Here in the West, economists are currently battling two serious problems, slow economic growth and rising inequality. In this talk we will draw on economic history to identify a cause which has so far been largely neglected: a global sex problem. Since the onset of globalisation, the lack of female empowerment outside of the West has created population growth rates which have undermined the position of the poor, reduced the bargaining power of Western workers, and lowered incentives for businesses to invest, harming economic growth. In other words, the current problems in the West cannot and should not be seen as independent of the plight of women overseas. Reducing inequality and raising growth rates in countries such as Britain and the U.S. will require economists to think more carefully about the gender dimension.