Economía feminista y discriminación de precios : caso del impuesto rosa en Machala.

Abstract

This research was oriented to the analysis of price discrimination towards products aimed at the female public in the city of Machala, this phenomenon is known in the literature as pink tax. The pink tax is not a legally set tax burden, but rather refers to the existence of a higher price setting margin for goods aimed at women. In the literature, this differentiation is criticized from the feminist economy and the gender economy; considering that stereotypes in consumer culture encourage the construction of a distorted ideal of what aesthetics and feminine beauty represent. For the analysis, a list of 86 products with the highest turnover in household consumption was taken and price information was collected in three supermarkets coded as MC, SPM and TIA. Significant evidence of the existence of an average recharge margin of $19.11 was found on the list of selected goods and it was statistically verified that women pay a higher price than men at 95% confidence. It is recommended that the control agencies in force in Ecuador, such as CORDICOM, the Superintendence of Economic Competition and Provincial Police Intendencies, define mechanisms to regulate price discrimination based on the consumption of products based on gender identity and control the construction of stereotypes about the female image.