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She was noted for her research on gender inequalities and the economics of the welfare state, for her contributions to feminist economics, as a leading proponent of the basic income concept and as one of the UK's foremost experts on gender budgeting. She served as Vice Dean of the Glasgow School for Business and Society, and was also well known for her support of Scottish independence and as a key adviser to the Scottish government and First Minister Alex Salmond on economic and welfare state policies. Ailsa McKay is highlighted as a leading intellectual figure in the campaign for independence in Alex Salmond's 2015 book The Dream Shall Never Die. Both Salmond and his successor Nicola Sturgeon have highlighted McKay's influence on Scottish gender equality policies.

A January 2015 conference in honour of McKay attended by academics and politicians paid tribute to her work. Former First Minister Alex Salmond said that "my regret is this, that I didn't take forward Ailsa's policies in my first ministerial stage."

Ailsa McKay is highlighted as a leading intellectual figure in the campaign for Scottish independence in Alex Salmond's 2015 book The Dream Shall Never Die.

Her final academic work is Counting on Marilyn Waring: New Advances in Feminist Economics, a new anthology in the field of feminist economics that went into print just days before her death, that aims to map the development in the field in the last two decades. In the opening chapter, "Advances in Feminist Economics in Times of Economic Crisis," McKay and her co-editor Margunn Bjørnholt call for a reshaping of the economy, economic theory and the economics profession, taking into account "advances within feminist economics that take as their starting point the socially responsible, sensible and accountable subject in creating an economy and economic theories that fully acknowledge care for each other as well as the planet." The book was described by Winthrop Professor of Economics Alison Preston as "a timely reminder of the politics and economics underpinning what, how and by whom activities and outputs are valued. For those concerned with social justice and sustainable futures, this important and powerful book provides an invaluable and practical insight into issues that are in need of greater visibility." Economics commentator Maria Reinertsen compared the book to Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century, arguing that "while Thomas Piketty's bestseller Capital in the Twenty-First Century barely tests the discipline's boundaries in its focus on the rich, Counting on Marilyn Waring challenges most limits of what economists should care about." According to Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, the book explores "a wide range of issues—including the fundamental meaning of economic growth and activity to consumption, health care, mortality, unpaid household work, mothering, education, nutrition, equality, and sustainability" and reveals "the breadth, depth, and substance that can grow from innovative ideas and critical analysis." Diane Elson argues that "despite many valiant efforts, women do not as yet really count in the conduct of economic policy. This book is an imaginative contribution to an ongoing struggle." In a review in Feminist Economics, Patricia E. Perkins calls the book "a joy to read and a revelation" and "a fitting culmination of [McKay's] lifelong work using economics to advance equity for women." The book is quoted in Melinda Gates' 2019 book The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World.

McKay died aged 50 on the morning of 5 March 2014, following a year-long battle with cancer.

Her research focused on gender inequalities and the economics of the welfare state, and she served as a consultant to the Scottish Parliament, the Irish Government, Her Majesty's Treasury, and the United Nations Development Programme. Since 2006, she held the visiting chair in gender studies at the Complutense University of Madrid, and was invited as an expert witness to give evidence during the budget process to the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of Canada. She was a leading authority on gender budget analysis in the United Kingdom. She was also a business commentator for The Herald newspaper. In 2012 she was appointed by the Scottish Government as a member of the Expert Working Group on Welfare and Constitutional Reform.

Her 2005 book The Future of Social Security Policy is according to Almaz Zelleke in Basic Income Studies, a "feminist critique of the neoclassical economic framework in which social security policies are traditionally assessed". The work argues that "this framework is biased in a way that prioritizes income-maintenance aspects of social security policy above all others."

McKay was a noted and early proponent of the basic income concept. She argued in 2001 that "social policy reform should take account of all gender inequalities and not just those relating to the traditional labor market" and that "the citizens' basic income model can be a tool for promoting gender-neutral social citizenship rights."

McKay joined Glasgow Caledonian University as a lecturer in economics in 1991. She later became head of department for economics and international business and Vice Dean of the Glasgow School for Business and Society. She was Reader in Gender and Economics until her 2011 appointment as Professor of Economics.

Ailsa McKay (7 June 1963 – 5 March 2014) was a Scottish economist, government policy adviser, a leading feminist economist and Professor of Economics at Glasgow Caledonian University.