Therefore, total investment is underestimated and certain forms of investment are undervalued in macroeconomic analysis. This can bias macroeconomic policy decisions—for example, when cuts are made to public social expenditures based on the assumption that these are ‘consumption’ items that do not yield future benefits. The policy stances adopted by many countries in recent decades, including tax cuts and trade liberalization, have tended to reduce public revenues relative to the size of the economy, meaning that fewer resources are available to finance government outlays. Given the reduction in government revenues, efforts to control budget deficits have emphasized reductions in spending, with cuts often disproportionately affecting women.