Feminism, Objectivity and Economics

Feminism, Objectivity and Economicsanalyzes the gender biases implicit in the definition of economics, and the discipline's methods and models. The emphasis on questions of choice and markets, on mathematical methods, and on models based on individual, rational actions reflect a way of conceptualizing the world which has a distinctly masculine slant. Feminism, Objectivity and Economicsextends feminist analysis of the influence of masculine norms on Western science to the specific case of economics. Julie A. Nelson, a leader in the field of feminist economics, both evaluates the core models of neoclassical economics, and presents case studies on topics including the theory of the family, income tax policy, and macroeconomics. She does not simply berate economists for the discipline's failings--she explicitly rejects the alternatives of setting up an economics solely for women or for "women's issues." Rather, she presents the outlines of a less gender-biased discipline which would bericher, more useful and more objective. She argues that a discipline informed by feminist theory would be an improved one, for all practitioners and all subjects.