physical infrastructure investment such as spending on clean water sanitation and health clinics can reduce womens unpaid care burden social infrastructure investment defined as investment in people s capabilities refers to the fundamental social intellectual and emotional skills and health of individuals or level of human development a country relies on for its economy to function both types have a public goods quality in that they generate positive spillover effects on economywide productivity financing for gender equality in these areas is more properly seen as an investment that yields an income stream in the future due to the beneficial development and growth effects as a result both physical and social infrastructure spending have the ability to create fiscal space