Pierre-Richard Ag茅nor delivers joint Arthur Lewis and Vital Topics lecture on gender equality and economic growth
Professor Pierre-Richard Ag茅nor, Hallsworth Professor of International Macroeconomics and Development Economics, drew from his upcoming book 鈥楪ender Equality and Economic Growth: An Overlapping Generations Approach鈥� in a joint Arthur Lewis and Vital Topics lecture, examining how gender inequality affects growth and why targeted policy is needed to address discrimination and the misallocation of talent.
recently delivered a joint lecture hosted by the and , sharing insights from more than 15 years of research behind his upcoming book on gender equality and economic growth. Focusing on developing economies, the book uses overlapping generations models to examine the relationship between economic forces, gender inequality and growth, and the role public policy plays in shaping those outcomes.
The event was chaired by Vice-President for Research , with Professor , Head of Alliance 91直播 Business School, contributing to the Q&A moderation. In her introduction, Professor Fagan highlighted the breadth of the University鈥檚 work on gender equality through centres including the Global Development Institute and the Work and Equalities Institute. She also emphasised the wider relevance of Professor Ag茅nor鈥檚 research, noting that it was particularly fitting for the lecture to bring together two flagship University series: the Arthur Lewis lecture series, which celebrates the economist鈥檚 pioneering work on development, and the Vital Topics lectures, which explore the major issues shaping the world today. The full lecture is available to watch in the embedded video below.
I was delighted to chair Pierre-Richard's lecture, hosted by our Alliance 91直播 Business School and the School of Social Sciences. The lecture focus - the value of integrating a gender analysis into macroeconomic modelling - stimulated a great interdisciplinary debate from an audience of staff and students across business, economics, political science, sociology, development and anthropology.
Professor Ag茅nor began by placing the book in a broader context through frameworks such as the and . He showed how economic modelling can help identify the structural challenges that continue to shape gender inequality.
He highlighted two core analytical contributions from the book. First, he suggested that increasing penalties for firms that violate equal pay laws can, in some cases, worsen the gender pay gap. Rather than changing behaviour, companies may pass those costs on to female employees, challenging conventional approaches and prompting a reconsideration of enforcement strategies.
Second, he explored the misallocation of female talent in innovation-driven sectors, arguing that closing pay gaps alone is not enough to maximise economic growth. Instead, targeted policies are needed to ensure high-ability women can contribute in areas where their skills can drive innovation and progress.
The key take-away from the lecture is that social scientists have now a range of quantitative tools for assessing rigorously the impact of policies aimed at promoting gender equality on economic growth and human development.
The Q&A session brought practical policy issues to the forefront, including the role of childcare support in enabling women鈥檚 participation in the workforce and wider questions around women鈥檚 agency in advancing gender equality. The discussion also highlighted opportunities to explore connections between emerging and developed economies through global supply chains, pointing to potential directions for future research.
As Pierre-Richard鈥檚 very insightful and thought-provoking lecture showed, addressing gender inequalities remains one of the defining economic and social challenges of our time, and sadly it is still a mixed picture in terms of progress across the world. Academics from the Work and Equalities Institute, based at Alliance 91直播 Business School, continue to work with colleagues from across a broad range of research disciplines both here in 91直播 and elsewhere in search of impactful solutions to the challenges.
Professor Fagan closed the lecture by encouraging attendees to reflect on how they might advance gender equality in their own professional and personal lives. The event underlined the continuing importance of rigorous research and effective policymaking in addressing one of the defining economic and social challenges of our time.
Watch the full lecture in the embedded video: