The political economy of women's budgets in the South

Soon after the democratic elections of 1994, South Africa embarked on its first women's budget exercise, a collaborative venture between nongovernmental organizations and the South African parliament. Some time later the South African government initiated its own exercise in gender analysis of the budget. The South African initiative has attracted a lot of interest from around the world. In a number of other countries governments and civil society players have embarked on gender analysis exercises, often with strong support from international donors. This paper discusses the ways in which these exercises can assist in addressing gender issues, as well as some of the tensions involved. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.