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Lesson 2, Topic 5
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Principles of feminist economics

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By pointing out the key differences between the neoclassical and feminist paradigms, we can observe substantial differences and also many aspects that have been traditionally neglected in economic theories. In 1998, Geoff Schneider and Jena Shackelford proposed 10 principles of feminist economics as an antidote to widely proclaimed principles of economics of the time, such as those of Gregory Mankiw. A professor of economics at Harvard, Mankiw brought a review of ten economic principles in his book Principles of Economics. By contrasting those principles, Schneider and Shackelford brought a feminist alternative which questioned the universally accepted principles:

Gregory Mankiw: Principles of Economics

Geoff Schneider and Jena Shackelford: Ten Principles of Feminist Economics: A Modestly Proposed Antidote

1. People face trade-offs.


2. The cost of something is what you give up to get it.


3. Rational people think at the margin.


4. People respond to incentives.


5. Trade can make everyone better off.


6. Markets are usually a good way to organise economic activity.


7. Governments can sometimes improve market outcomes.


8. A country’s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services.


9. Prices rise when the government prints too much money.


10. Society faces a short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment.




1. There can be no such thing as a definitive list of the principles of feminist economics.


2. Values enter into economic analysis at many different levels.


3. The Household is a locus of economic activity.


4. Non-market activities are important to the economy.


5. Power relationships are important in an economy.


6. A gendered perspective is central to the study of economics.


7. Human beings are complex, and they are influenced by more than just material factors.


8. People compete, cooperate and care.


9. Government action can improve market outcomes.


10. The scope of economics must be interdisciplinary.

11 –Schneider, Geoff; Shackelford, Jean. “Ten Principles of Feminist Economics: A Modestly Proposed Antidote”. Dept. of Economics, Bucknell University. 2012  https://web.archive.org/web/20120630022557/http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/gschnedr/FemPrcpls.htm , 12- Mankiw, N. Gregory (2020). Principles of economics (Ninth ed.). Boston, MA. ISBN 978-0-357-03831-4. OCLC 1109789332

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