To the extent that ordinary people think about macroeconomic policies at all, they generally do not associate them with human rights. However, macroeconomic policies have very substantial impacts on the full range of people’s rights—economic, social, cultural, civil and political.  Through trade policies, for example, the conditions within which people work and even access to a decent job are directly affected, while a policy that severely limits public expenditures has a direct impact on people’s access to health care services and education.

The size of a government’s budget, as well as the priorities within the budget, are determined in significant part by the government’s macroeconomic policies. Some of these policies may be adopted at the urging of international financial institutions, such as the IMF; some may be the result of political priorities otherwise chosen by governments. Because of their impact on the budget and on people’s rights, groups doing human rights budget work have a significant interest in understanding these policies, their impact on human rights, and how to affect them.