Publication date

May, 2024

Details

NIPFP Working Paper No. 409

Authors

Lekha Chakraborty

Abstract

Gender budgeting is a public financial management (PFM) tool to ensure accountability mechanisms. The analysis of "process" indicators of gender-responsive PFM (GRPFM) reveals that India has been successful in integrating a gender lens within the budget cycle, including in financial planning and allocation, and in effective implementation. However, a legally mandated GRPFM would be crucial for the sustained impact of gender budgeting on gender equality outcomes. The empirical analysis of the link between gender-responsive PFM and gender equality outcomes showed that the flexibility of finances is crucial for a government to implement GRPFM. Unconditional fiscal transfers have a relatively greater impact on gender equality outcomes than conditional transfers. The plausible mechanism through which unconditional tax transfers impact gender equality outcomes lies in the flexibility of use of tax transfers by subnational governments in prioritizing their gender-related commitments. This inference has policy implications for the 16th Finance Commission.

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