ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the concerns that Ailsa McKay had about macro-economic policy and the extent to which it is supportive of public investment that reduces gender inequality, improves women's wellbeing and contributes to a more just and productive economy. It explores that challenge in relation to macroeconomic policy, in the context of UK fiscal policy since 2010. The analysis and policy appears to be gender-neutral but feminist economists have argued that if you look more closely this is not so. The Coalition government that came to power in the UK in May 2010 tried to reduce the budget deficit primarily by cutting expenditure, with much less focus on increasing taxation. The UK Women's Budget Group in partnership with researcher Howard Reed has examined the impacts on different kinds of household, taking into account changes to indirect taxes and cuts to public services as well as changes in direct taxes and cuts to social security.
