“Smart economics” within Family Planning : An analysis of the framings of Family Planning initiatives and their relation to “smart economics”

Abstract: This study examines a chosen set of prominent actors within family planning initiatives aimed toward the global South to find out if there are traces of “smart economics” within the framings of the initiatives. The smart economic framework has received critique for instrumentalising women and using gender equality as a tool rather than a goal. Researchers have found similar arguments within the family planning discourse and emphasised the potential harm these arguments lead to. By looking at the websites of six family planning actors, a content analysis is the chosen method. By examining the texts from the websites through categories invented from key elements of the smart economic framework, certain themes or the lack of these themes can be used to find traces of smart economics within the framings of family planning initiatives. The material from the chosen organisations is argued to influence the family planning discourse and is relevant to review. The results show that there are traces of a smart economic narrative within the framings of family planning initiatives. As previous research has pointed out, there is a lack of focus on men’s role in family planning. By using a smart economic narrative, the organisations working with family planning contribute to the discourse as well as the overall development discourse. By addressing the problems of using the smart economic framework, hopefully, the discourse can transform into being rights-based and not instrumental.