Further Reading
Briefing papers on pro-poor growth
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) recently published three briefing papers on the topic of pro-poor growth:
Pro-poor growth and development (Briefing paper 33, January 2008): An introduction to pro-poor growth, reviewing the concepts of growth, poverty reduction, inequality, and democracy and accountability in the pro-poor growth context. Key points are as follows:
- Economic growth is usually necessary for poverty reduction, but is far from sufficient
- Poverty reduction through growth depends on access to markets
- Blueprints for growth and poverty reduction do not exist – each country needs detailed and specific analysis ... Read more >>>
Supporting pro-poor growth processes: Implications for donors (Briefing paper 34, January 2008): This briefing paper discusses policies and programmes to strengthen the productive capacities of
- Pro-poor growth requires attention on productive sectors and on developing an enabling environment
- Strategies for pro-poor growth must be embedded in a nationally-owned development plan
- Donors must understand the political economy of pro-poor policy processes, and provide support that is long-term, predictable, flexible and responsive to country situations ...
The political economy of pro-poor growth
(Briefing paper 35, January 2008): This paper focuses on the political economy challenges to making growth policies pro-poor. Key points are as follows:- A state must be developmental in nature if it is to enable a pace and pattern of growth which is pro-poor
- Institutions matter — attempts to reform or build robust pro-growth institutions must first identify a narrow and specific set of ‘growth-enhancing’ institutions, and then support them
- Overt opposition to pro-poor change is less common than indifference, and the wealthy can often be persuaded to support pro-poor policies, particularly if they see changes as being in their interest ... Read more>>>
These and other ODI publications are available from: www.odi.org.uk/resources/
| Chronic Poverty Research Centre (2008) | |
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The Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09 looks at possible solutions to chronic poverty. The report identifies five main traps that underpin chronic poverty – insecurity, limited citizenship, spatial disadvantage, social discrimination and poor work opportunities – and outlines key policy responses to these. The report argues that the development of a ‘just social compact’ between citizens and states must be the focus for poverty eradication. Read the report and associated Policy Briefs and Background Papers here: http://www.chronicpoverty.org/cpra-report-0809.php |
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Making Policies Work for the Poor: A Case of Participatory Multi-stakeholder Livestock Policy Development in Chhattisgargh
Hyderabad: Intercooperation India, 2008
Policy is not a tightly defined word but a highly flexible one, used in different ways in different occasions. Mostly policies are formulated in a top down manner and in many cases are the results of political decisions to achieve the ‘perceived needs’ of stakeholders. The pro-poor policy development process in Chhattisgarh (India) is a good example of making an implementable policy that is responsive to the stakeholders’ needs and the state interest. The participatory process followed is worth replicating in any other sectors and states. It is sensitive to poorest of the poor, different farmer perspectives, Adivasis, women and environment. Download the paper
Read more at IC India's Knowledge Management Platform >>>
Chronic Poverty Report 2004-05.
Manchester: Chronic Poverty Research Centre (2004).
This report provides an accessible and readable entry point to understanding more about poverty drivers, maintainers and interrupters. It explains the difference between transitory and chronic poverty and presents both the global picture (in maps and statistics) and stories of individual poor people.
The report examines what chronic poverty is and why it matters, who the chronically poor are, where they live, what causes poverty to be persistent and what should be done about it. A section of regional perspectives looks at the experience of chronic poverty insub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, transitional countries and China.
Read the report and associated documents here: http://www.chronicpoverty.org/cpra-report-0405.php
Promoting Pro Poor Growth
Development Assistance Committee (DAC), OECD (2006)
The work of DAC’s POVNET in the last five years has given priority to addressing strategies and policies in areas that contribute to pro-poor economic growth. The outcomes of this work are reports that provide guiding policies and strategies for agriculture, infrastructure and private sector development and a concluding paper with key policy messages with regard to pro-poor growth.
This paper takes a fresh look at the important role of agriculture in contributing to pro-poor growth, and identifies a new agriculture agenda for enabling pro-poor growth.
Download (Pdf 830 kb)
Private Sector Development
This publication highlights the role of the private sector for pro-poor growth. The paper acknowledges that the way the private sector develops has a strong bearing on the pattern of growth, influencing whether growth is broad or narrowly based and whether it is more or less inclusive of the poor. Download (Pdf 880 kb)
Infrastructure
This paper recognizes that insufficient, inadequate economic infrastructure is among the most pressing obstacles to achieving pro-poor growth. It underlines the importance of increased investment in infrastructure, and provides guiding principles for infrastructure programmes that enhance pro-poor growth and the reduction of poverty. Download (Pdf 770 kb)
Key Policy Messages
This summarizes the conclusions and recommendations derived from POVNET’s work on pro-poor growth. The report provides guidance to donors on how to make their interventions in support of pro-poor growth more effective. Download (Pdf 600 kb)
Public Policy Responses to Exclusion: Evidence from Brazil, South Africa and India. Background paper for DFID Exclusion Strategy.
Piron, L-H and Z. Curran. (2005). London: Overseas Development InstituteThis paper focuses on social exclusion policies in Brazil, South Africa and India. It is of particular interest because it examines the full policy process. It examines the development of policy responses to social exclusion,the effects that these policies have had and the challenges encountered when implementing these policies. The paper, arguably, bridges the worlds of pro-poor policy and empowerment – two of the themes of great interest to SDC.
Its key findings are that discrimination needs to be recognised as a problem deserving attention, partly because it goes against the ‘social contract’. Luckily there are a variety of technical responses available, ranging from constitutional guarantees and an appropriate legal framework to affirmative action policies and social protection programmes. However, the effective implementation of such programmes and policies is dependant on the political economy – ideology and a democratic government is not sufficient. Download (Pdf 230 kb)
To claim Our Rights
Moser, C.& A. Norton. (2001). London: Overseas Development InstituteThis paper examines how using the rights-based approach might contribute to policy formulation to enable sustainable livelihoods. It is of interest here becauseof the way it maps the synergies between two important conceptual frameworks adopted by SDC – the rights based approach and sustainable livelihoods or systemic approaches.
The paper concludes that rights matter –and a framework that focuses on rights helps policymakers to understand the power dimensions of development processes. However, if poor people are to be supported in claiming their rights a number of complementary strategies are required (e.g. access to information and support from ‘allies’, e.g. c ivil society actors). The state can act as an ‘enabler of livelihood-related human rights’ and donor agencies can make a difference, by using their position to exert influence on partner agencies, in policy arenas and by promoting programmes that support poor people’s access to justice. Download (Pdf 470 kb)
Pro-Poor Growth in the 1990s: Lessons and Insights from 14 Countries.
AFD, BMZ,DFID & World Bank. (2005). Washington: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development & World BankThis paper is recommended because it provides a useful overview of a study which examined the extent to which growth during the 1990s benefited the poor. It presents evidence from fourteen countries and shows that countries with higher, more sustained economic growth (Vietnam) achieved faster reduction in poverty rates and countries with little or no growth (Zambia, Indonesia and Romania) saw poverty headcounts rise. Interestingly some“positive growth countries” have been more successful in reducing poverty than others. Poverty reduction is most significant where the poor have been able to participate in and benefit from growth. Country examples are used to show how (i) making agricultural activities more productive and (ii) taking advantage of non-agricultural and urban employment opportunities helped to increase the participation of the poor in growth. The 14 country cases presented provide important lessons about what has and has no tworked in these countries to increase the participation of poor households ingrowth. Download (Pdf 5.1 MB)
And if there was no state?: Critical reflections on Bates, Polanyi and Evans on the role of the state in promoting development
Rocha Menocal, A. (2004). Third World Quarterly Vol. 25(4):765-777.
This paper has been selected because it provides a readable overview of thinking about politics and the role of the state in developing countries. It presents an overview of the work of three well known thinkers in this area: Robert Bates, Karl Polanyi and Peter Evans.
Bates’work is described as providing a neo-liberal interpretation of the over-intervention by the State in markets, with the transition from an agricultural to capitalist industrial economy being accompanied by the attempt of key leaders to consolidate their political and economic position. His interpretation has been criticised but strongly influenced World Bank thinking during the 1980s. Bates’analysis can be criticised for selecting only cases of failed state intervention but Evans provides a more generic framework with which to understand the factors that determine the success of state intervention. He suggests that developmental outcomes are dependant upon two variables: internal state structure and state-society relations, the best combination of which is“embedded autonomy”. Evans, argues that a developmental state must have a Weberian bureaucracy to provide workers with the appropriate incentives. However, the bureaucracy must also be embedded in society so it is in tune with society’s needs.
Polanyi argues that rather than appearing naturally, markets are in fact constructed. This may involve the commodification of poor people’s labour which can be dehumanising and lead to the breakdown of social ties. However, Polanyi argues that the state has been responsible for introducing the self regulating market and protecting its citizens against its destructive forces. So, while state intervention may be harmful, it plays a crucial role in creating the marketsand the regulating them. Download (Pdf 210 kb)
