Macroeconomic Strategies from a Human Rights Perspective: How

to use human rights to assess economic policyOHCHR Meeting April 2013

Radhika Balakrishnan, Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Rutgers University

Human Rights Principles

Progressive Realization Non-retrogression

Maximum Available Resources

Minimum Essential Levels

Participation, Transparency, Accountability

Non-discrimination & Equality

Obligations• The obligation to respect requires states to refrain from interfering

with the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. • The obligation to protect requires States to prevent violations of

such rights by third parties.• The obligation to fulfil requires States to take appropriate

legislative, administrative, budgetary, judicial and other measures towards the full realization of such rights.

• The obligation of conduct requires action reasonably calculated to realize the enjoyment of a particular right.

• The obligation of result requires States to achieve specific targets to satisfy a detailed substantive standard.

• These obligations include extra-territorial obligations.

Maximum Available Resources

• “Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures” (ICESCR Article 2.1).

• Implication: Governments cannot ignore human rights obligations on the grounds of lack of resources. They must show that they are making the maximum use of available resources to realize human rights.

Maximum Available Resources Star

Government Expenditure

Government Revenue

Development Assistance

Debt & Deficit Financing

Monetary Policy & Financial Regulation

Maximum Available Resource Star• Government Expenditure: can help fulfill economic and social rights through

provision of appropriate services, infrastructure and social protection.

• Government Revenue: can help to finance HR fulfilling services, infrastructure and social protection.

• Development Assistance: can help to finance HR fulfilling services, infrastructure and social protection.

• Debt & Deficit Financing: can help to finance HR fulfilling services, infrastructure and social protection, depending on the assets built through borrowing and the sustainability of debt.

• Monetary Policy & Financial Regulation: can help fulfill HR by influencing interest rate and exchange rates, in ways that sustain output and employment.

• All of these instruments can also be used in ways that hinder the fulfillment of economic and social rights.

Debt sustainability:The rate of economic growth

matters• GDP reflects the ability to pay down

the debt.• Sustainability of a given level of debt

usually viewed in terms of the growth of the debt (the interest rate) and the growth of GDP (the rate of economic growth):

• Sustainable debt when g > i.• Unsustainable debt when g< i.

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Endogeneity of the deficit: The rate of economic growth

matters• Fiscal deficit is the annual addition to the

debt.• The fiscal deficit also depends on the rate

of economic growth:• In economic upturn, tax receipts rise and

automatic stabilizers (e.g. unemployment benefits) fall – fiscal position improves.

• In economic downturn, tax receipts fall and automatic stabilizers rise – fiscal position deteriorates.

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Endogeneity of the deficit: The rate of economic growth

matters• Fiscal deficit is the annual addition to the

debt.• The fiscal deficit also depends on the rate

of economic growth:• In economic upturn, tax receipts rise and

automatic stabilizers (e.g. unemployment benefits) fall – fiscal position improves.

• In economic downturn, tax receipts fall and automatic stabilizers rise – fiscal position deteriorates.

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