Free trade, fair trade and gender inequality in less developed countries.

摘要

Fair trade is often viewed as an alternative to free trade that reduces global inequality and poverty. This paper examines whether fair trade is truly an alternative to the free market, and as a consequence whether it can effectively advance gender equality and alleviate the poverty of women in less developed countries (LDCs). First, neoclassical economics and trade liberalization policies are reviewed. The paper then examines how fair trade seeks to correct market imperfections, thereby making the free market more efficient in distributing wealth. The ability of fair trade to address the central issues related to trade liberalization and women in LDCs is discussed, and the gendered structures of fair trade identified. Whether fair trade can provide gender equality within global capitalist structures is a theoretical matter that requires further empirical inquiry. Suggestions for future research, informed by feminist theories of the political economy, are provided.