Powell, Jeff ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7962-3101 and Elson, Diane (2026) Engendering monetary policy. Feminist Economics. ISSN 1354-5701 (Print), 2352-4421 (Online)

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Abstract

Inflation-targeting monetary policy based on the New Keynesian Economic framework has been an obstacle to fiscal stimulus, employment, and growth, reducing public investment in equality supporting services and transfers, with disproportionate impacts for women. Empirical research highlights the gender-based distributional impacts of interest rate interventions via differential changes in employment, wages, and debt servicing burdens. Quantitative easing has increased wealth inequality by driving up the prices of assets which women are less likely to hold, while quantitative tightening raises challenges for the fiscal space needed to support a feminist agenda. Engendering monetary policy requires: reforms to central bank governance and consultative bodies; broadening mandates to target real variables; widening of our understanding of the causes of inflation and the tools needed to address it; and an overhaul of operational procedures to introduce measures such as distributional impact assessments, facilities to incentivize investment in gender equality, and greater coordination with fiscal policy.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This article has its origins in work for the UK Women’s Budget Group (WBG): a 2020 briefing paper on macroeconomic policy by Elson for the Commission on a Gender Equal Economy set up by the UK WBG; and a 2023 briefing paper for the WBG by Powell on feminist perspectives on monetary policy. We thank staff and members of the UK WBG for the discussions that informed the development of our thinking on engendering monetary policy.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	monetary policy, central banking, gender economics, inflation, quantitative easing, quantitative tightening
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HG Finance
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Greenwich Business School Greenwich Business School > Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability (PEGFA) Journal of Economic Literature Classification > Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability (PEGFA) Greenwich Business School > School of Accounting, Finance and Economics
Last Modified:	11 Aug 2026 13:30
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/51684

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