From global economic crisis to the 'other crisis'

The global economic crisis of 2008 has provoked considerable debate on unregulated markets and the need for more effective state regulation. Shahra Razavi draws attention to an important arena of social development, the arena of unpaid care, that is often 'invisible' but one that is likely to experience particular strain as the global economic crisis unfolds. Short of a paradigm shift, the paper argues that what is needed as a first step is to interrogate development processes and 'economic' policies through a 'care lens'. It is also necessary to scrutinize the multiplicity of institutional sites where care is produced, and the extent to which 'social' policies contest or reinforce gender and class inequalities.