Using Computable General Equilibrium Models to Analyze Economic Benefits of Gender-Inclusive Policies

Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models are economy-wide simulation tools that can be very useful in answering the policy questions related to closing gender gaps. They allow us to estimate the contributions of gender-inclusive policies, quantify costs and benefits of associated reforms for policy prioritization, identify winners and losers of suggested reforms, and understand transmission channels. They also allow us to estimate distributional and sectoral impact of economy-wide shock such as the containment measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Until now, the MTI Macroeconomic modeling team and Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) have collaborated to improve the existing modeling approaches to incorporate gender gaps in these models. The results so far have been encouraging in quantifying the aggregate benefits of closing the gender gaps and allowing a better policy dialogue with stakeholders.