Economic growth has different impacts on gender gaps. In recent decades the growing participation of women in the labour market has reduced the gender employment gap, however a notable gender pay gap still persists standing at around 15% on average in the European Union. In this context, this paper evaluates the impact of economic growth patterns on the evolution of gender employment and pay gaps. First, sectorial feminization, direct discrimination, and structural change factors are identified and evaluated as ways to explain changes observed in the gender pay gap. Second, we explore the influence of demand, technology, and intensity factors on the evolution of employment combining gender, skill, sectorial, and temporal perspectives. As a case study, we examine Spanish economic growth from 1980 to 2007 and the influences on the size, composition (by skill), and distribution (by sector) of female and male employment, as well as the consequences for gender gaps. Our results show that structural change contributed to reduce the gender employment gap in Spain; while the evolution of the gender pay gap is less conclusive, following a sort of inverted U-shape. This paper shows the suitability and potential of the multisectorial input–output framework to analyse structural and technological changes and their impacts on the gender employment and pay gaps.

Multiregional input–output (MRIO) and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models have greatly facilitated approaches to environmental and economic problems in recent years. This paper examines regional reallocation criteria intended to reduce water constraints in the Spanish economy. Our goal is to assess the impact of alternative allocation scenarios for regional production on the country’s agriculture and agri-food industries, and the associated effects on water resources along the whole length of food supply chains, which display significant asymmetries between regions caused by imbalances in the availability of water resources. We design a CGE model using an MRIO database for Spain. Our scenarios are based on increases in the production of water-intensive crops in regions with more abundant water resources and the development of more sustainable food supply chains between farms and the agri-food industry. Our findings point to a series of policy options that could be applied to ensure successful outcomes in both directions.