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Can poor people benefit from ornamental fish farming in West Africa's rainforests?  new

Over 200 species of valuable ornamental fish live in the rivers of the Lower Guinean rainforest in Cameroon. The export trade for these fish largely benefits foreign businessmen, though, who keep up to 95 percent of profits. More sustainable approaches to trade are needed if local people are to benefit.

http://www.id21.org/nr/n3wf1g1.html

(Added: Fri May 16 2008   Hits: 4)

An Independent Guide to Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (MSWord)

(Eurodad) This PRSP Guide has four purposes: To summarise, for those who have not mastered Washington-speak, the large volume of IFI material on the new approach to poverty reduction, and on PRSPs in particular; To comment on the details of the proposals; To look at the 'bigger picture', particularly at some of the potential pitfalls, and other issues that PRSP raises; Appendices on participation, monitoring and appropriate benchmarks in PRSP. It is thus an information guide, but also a discussion document on how to interpret PRSP. Feedback and comments are welcome.

http://www.eurodad.org/uploadstore/cms/docs/eurodad_prsp_independentguide.doc

(Added: Thu Aug 26 2004   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 437)

Between Grassroots and Governments - Civil Society Experiences with the PRSPs: A Study of Local Civil Society Response to the PRSPs (pdf)

By Susanne Possing, Programme Researcher. DIIS Working Paper 2003:20, September 2003. The report focuses on civil society experience with locally identified priorities for poverty eradication, an area little examined and less discussed in the international debate on PRSP to date. In the three N/S PRSP Programme countries, Honduras, Nicaragua and Zambia, civil society organisations have been involved in efforts to identify national as well as local priorities for poverty eradication. Taking the point of departure in involvement of CS with PRSP planning and monitoring at both levels, the paper presents a range of challenges and dilemmas for civil society in its efforts to combat poverty. Special attention is given to civil society initiatives and response to PRSP in provinces, districts and communities.

http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/WP2003/sup_grassroots.pdf

(Added: Tue Jun 01 2004   Modified: Thu Sep 14 2006   Hits: 490)

Blinding with Science or encouraging debate? How World Bank analysis determines PRSP policies

September 2002. This report examines the powerful roles of the World Bank in determining the policies chosen by PRSP countries. It extends the arguments about what is going wrong with PRSPs. The report was written by the Bretton Woods Project and published in association with World Vision. The Poverty Reduction Strategy process, introduced by the World Bank and IMF in 1999, is supposed to ensure that governments and civil society groups take the lead in defining policies that the Bank and Fund should support. But many commentators have complained that macroeconomic policy choices have not been adequately debated and that few countries have deviated from standard options. It also provides a critical assessment of the current moves to introduce "Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA). The briefing recommends taking further action to break the Bank's near monopoly on development analysis. This can only be achieved by diversifying the agencies which commission and produce knowledge and by making the World Bank more receptive to diverse perspectives.

http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/adjustment/a30blinding.html

(Added: Mon Mar 31 2003   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 333)

Chains of Fortune: Linking Women Producers and Workers with Global Markets

According to the Ministers of the Commonwealth, globalization and specifically trade liberalization and privatization, presents new opportunities and challenges to policy-makers who should take steps to ensure that weak societies and weak groups of people are enabled to take advantage of the new economic opportunities. This reports looks at case studies of groups of women from developing countries around the world who are perceived as benefiting from globalisation. In terms of strategies, there are examples of fair trade (Ghana); traditional business development services/niche market (Samoa); small enterprise development/ social entrepreneurship (Mozambique); ethical trade/labour legislation (South Africa); female-led industrialization (Bangladesh); and technology driven globalization (India). The report then looks at the overall trade policy context within which the case studies are situated, and draws out the main lessons learned from them, highlighting some of the good ideas for policies and programmes to be considered for future action. (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2004)

http://divinechocolate.com/shared_asp_files/uploadedfiles/F7284775-DFCD-447D-B79F-0CCE784FD654_ChainsofFortune.pdf

(Added: Wed Apr 12 2006   Modified: Thu Feb 01 2007   Hits: 249)

Civil society's perspective on their involvement in PRSP monitoring: assessing constraints and potentials in Nicaragua

This analysis has been mainly informed by the perceptions of knowledgeable civil society representatives in Nicaragua. It applies an innovative tool - the so called 'CSO Participation Matrix' - that has been developed at Alliance Sud. The analytical tool helped to structure the information, to identify critical gaps and existing potentials, and to derive key challenges to civil society's participation. Ultimately, the tool is intended to serve civil society organisations in strengthening their voice in the multi-stakeholder dialogue on PRS monitoring. The study concludes with recommendations on fields of activities that have the potential to enhance the role of civil society in the monitoring process. (Alliance Sud: the Swiss Alliance of Development Organisations, August 2006)

http://www.alliancesud.ch/english/files/T_EgDyCa3.pdf

(Added: Thu Aug 24 2006   Hits: 183)

DEVELOPMENT: Aid "Dismally Slow" in Reaching Poorest

Developing countries have raised large numbers of their people above the international community's dollar-a-day poverty line but few of the "ultra poor" -- 162 million people living on less than 50 cents a day -- have benefited and in some regions their numbers have swollen ( IPS, 7 November 2007).

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39960

(Added: Fri Nov 09 2007   Hits: 165)

Do PRSPs Empower Poor Countries And Disempower The World Bank, Or Is It The Other Way Round? (pdf)

By Frances Stewart and Michael Wang, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, May 2003. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) have been introduced by the World Bank and the IMF as a necessary aspect of securing HIPC debt relief and access to other funds. They are intended to increase national 'ownership' of programmes, through extensive participation. This paper assesses whether they actually do empower poor countries, by exploring the process and content of the PRSPs. It finds that as far as civil society is concerned, the PRSPs currently permit little significant contribution to programme design. Governments appear to take a bigger role, but are also heavily constrained, especially with respect to macro-policy. The fact that the content of PRSPs is very similar to previous adjustment packages suggest that little real change has occurred through this process. Moreover, some large IFI programmes are unaffected by the process. Hence PRSPs do not significantly empower poor countries. They may give the appearance of greater ownership, but so long as there is no significant underlying change, such a change in perceptions about ownership, which could make IFI designed programmes more effective and thereby empower them, is likely to be short lived.

http://www.eurodad.org/uploadstore/cms/docs/WBevalMay03.pdf

(Added: Thu May 20 2004   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 406)

Driving Under the Influence: Senegal's PRSP Process [pdf]

When the debt crisis came to the forefront of global public attention at the dawn of the new millennium, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund responded with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as a condition for debt relief for the poorest countries. Senegal was among those countries required to draft a strategy detailing how the money the country would have spent servicing its debt could be spent in country to reduce poverty. This Social Justice Committee report highlights that concrete changes need to be made if PRSPs are to result in real progress toward poverty reduction and national control over development.

http://www.halifaxinitiative.org/updir/Senegal.pdf

(Added: Mon Nov 14 2005   Modified: Fri Feb 09 2007   Hits: 258)

Economic Intergration, Growth, and Poverty: Integration and Trade Policy Issues Paper

This paper argues poverty reduction, economic growth and economic integration are, indeed, related phenomena. This paper reviews the theoretical mechanisms through which trade boosts growth, reduces poverty, and increases the incomes of the disadvantaged and the empirical evidence that supports these claims. The final case highlights some specific considerations for the case of Columbia (Inter-American Development Bank, July 2007).

http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/economic%20integration%2C%20growth%20and%20poverty.pdf

(Added: Wed Aug 29 2007   Hits: 110)

Ending world poverty: is the debate settled? [PDF - 423 KB]

This Paper by Jan Vandemoortele of the UNDP argues that - contrary to prevailing wisdom - economic growth alone is not sufficient to engender poverty reduction. Vandemoortele illustrates his argument using the case of China where maintained strong economic growth has led to significant poverty reduction in some time periods, but very little in others. Vandemoortele then argues the case for what he terms pro-poor growth (growth that is effective in reducing poverty). Finally, he examines the ramifications of this for national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and the Millennium Development Goals.

http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/newsletters/OnePager12.pdf

(Added: Wed Feb 01 2006   Hits: 404)

Failing women, sustaining poverty : gender in Poverty Reduction Strategy papers : report for the UK Gender and Development Network(PDF)

(Eldis) By Ann Whitehead. Christian Aid. 2003. More than half the poor citizens of heavily indebted developing countries are women. Since 1999, the international financial institutions have required these countries to formulate nationally owned participatory poverty-reduction strategies, in the form of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), as a condition of receiving concessional lending and debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. This report, produced by Christian Aid, explores how the PRSPs of four countries deal with gender issues. It examines the form that gender issues take in the PRSPs of Tanzania, Bolivia, Malawi and Yemen, why they take this form, and how this is linked to the unique design of each PRSP process. It finds that gender issues appear in a fragmented and arbitrary way in the body of the PRSPs dealing with policy priorities and budget commitments. Some 'women in development' issues are raised, especially in the sections on health and education, but gender is not integrated, or mainstreamed. [adapted from author]

http://www.christianaid.org.uk/indepth/0306gad/failing_women.pdf

(Added: Tue Nov 16 2004   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 341)

Good Practice In The Development Of PRSP Indicators And Monitoring Systems (pdf)

Authors: David Booth, Overseas Development Institute, (London) & Henry Lucas, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex (July 2002). Working Paper 172. This paper contains the key findings of a desk study commissioned by the Poverty Monitoring Task Team of the Strategic Partnership with Africa (SPA). The study was undertaken in two phases, the results of which are reported in the two Parts of the paper. Phase 1 was a critical review of PRSP documentation for sub-Saharan Africa, including four full PRSPs, 17 Interim PRSPs (iPRSPs) and 19 Joint Staff Assessments (JSAs). Phase 2 involved a wide-ranging search for experiences and examples that might be drawn on in improving the way PRSPs handle monitoring and indicators.

http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/wp172.pdf

(Added: Mon Sep 16 2002   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 346)

GUYANA: Experience of Economic Reform under World Bank and Economic Direction

This Social Justice Committee paper examines recent reforms of the economic structures of Guyana, a country with a mixed record of compliance with restructuring under IMF and World Bank direction, and the roles of main actors influencing economic policy. This paper reviews these reforms, starting with efforts to develop and implement a national program of poverty reduction guided by the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). It then considers reforms in sugar, bauxite mining and water services. In each of the sections the paper describes the overall context and then assesses the roles, motivations and impacts of the main actors: the state, the international financial institutions (IFIs),especially the IMF and World Bank, the private sector and civil society.

http://www.s-j-c.net/media/pdf/GuyanaEconomicReform.pdf

(Added: Mon Nov 14 2005   Modified: Fri Feb 09 2007   Hits: 245)

Learning From the Poor

While the poor stand out in their poverty and deprivation, they are not able to stand up against the maladies of the systems from which they draw their sustenance. The power equations at their level are simply not empowering. They need to break many a vicious circle to get into the virtuous circle of development. DB along with the Government of India supported two phases of participatory poverty assessments in seven Indian states. The studies were supported by the Department for International Development (DFID) and spread across 78 districts and 842 locations covering over twenty thousand poor people. Completed in 2005, the studies brought forth a multitude of perspectives on the issue of poverty. The synthesis report, Learning from the Poor, cuts across the studies to highlight common threads that emerge (Asian development bank, 10 July 2007) .

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Learning-From-the-Poor/Learning-From-the-Poor.pdf

(Added: Fri Aug 03 2007   Hits: 323)

MDG-Based PRSPs Need More Ambitious Economic Policies [Doc]

Terry McKinley, Policy Discussion Paper, United Nations Development Programme. Jan 2005. This paper identifies implications for economic policies of basing Poverty Reduction Strategies on the ambitious, long-term framework of the Millennium Development Goals. One of its main objectives is to open up the dialogue on the policy content of Poverty Reduction Strategies and promote greater policy choice for national policymakers.

http://www.choike.org/documentos/undp_mdg2005.pdf

(Added: Tue May 17 2005   Modified: Mon Jul 02 2007   Hits: 412)

Missing Links in the Politics of Development: Learning from the PRSP Experiment

This paper by David Booth from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) reviews PRSPs and argues that the PRS approach has fallen far short of what is needed for development. The paper states that it cannot yet be said that the PRSP experiment has failed, because no-one has formulated a better idea. However, it is clear that PRSPs have not delivered what was hoped for. This paper identifies three types of possible international action that have been missing in the politics of PRSP development including:
-a more serious understanding of country contexts by donor staffs
-a willingness to go public about issues that donors currently discuss behind closed doors
-a more serious effort to construct regional "neighbourhoods" and a global climate of opinion that would do what PRSPs have been unable to do-incentivise the construction of developmental states in poor countries

http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/working_papers/wp256.pdf

(Added: Mon Jan 30 2006   Hits: 294)

Missing the mark? Participation in the PRSP process in Rwanda

January 2003. This paper assesses the quality of the participatory process that led to the formulation of Rwanda's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). It considers who participated, how the participatory process was actually structured, and the impact that participants' expectations and the political context had on the outcome of the process.

http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/indepth/0212rwanda/rwanda.htm

(Added: Sun Feb 02 2003   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 327)

Moyeen Khan: a rebel with a cause

He rocked the economic and political establishment when he stood before a Dhaka conference of international aid donors and government ministers and lambasted the World Bank for imposing policies on Bangladesh, through its poverty reduction strategy (PRSP). Now in his first full interview since that act of rebellion, Moyeen Khan remains defiant and continues to question the democratic legitimacy of the 300-page anti-poverty paper, which he flung to the floor in August as "worthless." (Moslem Uddin Ahmed, Panos Features, 18 October 2006)

http://www.panos.org.uk/newsfeatures/featuredetails.asp?id=1263

(Added: Tue Nov 28 2006   Hits: 216)

Norwegian Views On Poverty Reduction Strategy Processes In Partner Countries (PDF)

Poverty reduction is the overall objective of Norway's development assistance. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently (2001) presented an action plan for poverty reduction. The plan gives a comprehensive and operationalized overview of the Norwegian strategy in this field (Source: Eldis).

http://www.dev-zone.net/downloads/5393norwayaid.pdf

(Added: Wed Jun 11 2003   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 311)

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Ownership, PRSPs and IFI Conditionality (pdf)

World Vision, 2004, by Angela Wood. A special report in the 60th year of the IMF/World Bank. PRSPs have largely failed to achieve the goal of effective country ownership, according to a new World Vision report released in April for the Spring Meetings, entitled 'One step forward, two steps back'. The report demonstrates how conditionalities, accompanied by the very real threat of closing the funding pipeline, have been used as a substitute for genuine ownership of reforms. It argues that conditionality is inherently contradictory to ownership, and is not an effective substitute for genuine commitment from governments to carry out reforms that have wide support. The report challenges the World Bank and IMF to take a broader view of ownership, and to broaden the range of economic policy options they are willing to consider. Their unwillingness to do this up to the present has been a major impediment to their ability to become the force for development and poverty reduction that they claim to be.

http://worldvision.org.nz/reports/onestepforward.pdf

(Added: Mon Jun 28 2004   Modified: Wed Apr 19 2006   Hits: 788)

Participation in Poverty Reduction Strategies: a synthesis of experience with participatory approaches to policy design, implementation and monitoring

(PDF Format-410KB )A synthesis of experience with participatory approaches to policy design, implementation and monitoring. This paper reviews the experience of applying participatory methods to macro-level policy formulation, implementation and monitoring.

http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/bookshop/wp/wp109.pdf

(Added: Fri Jul 07 2000   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 458)

Politics and Poverty Reduction Strategies: Lessons from Latin American HIPCs

This paper addresses the perception that Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) processes in Latin America and the Caribbean have not grappled effectively with politics, and have not engaged successfully with political actors and institutions. The paper's overall argument is that the PRS approach has been compromised by the fact that a single instrument - preparation of a comprehensive plan document, with broad consultation - has been made to serve different purposes. In reality, these need to be met in different ways. As a consequence, it has served none particularly well, although some better than others. The function it has performed least well is that of getting genuine political buy-in to poverty reduction as an objective. A coordinated multi-pronged approach is the key to a more satisfactory relationship between political systems, donor actions and PRSs. This analysis is developed in three substantive sections, beginning with the country political situations and ending with donor responses and options. (David Booth, David Booth, Arturo Grigsby and Carlos Toranzo, Overseas Development Institute, February 2006)

http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/working_papers/wp262.pdf

(Added: Wed Jan 10 2007   Hits: 162)

Poverty Reduction Strategies and PRSPs

The World Bank's PovertyNet site provides a 'Poverty Reduction Strategies and PRSPs' section that houses a PRSP document library where you can access all available PRSPs. This page also highlights the latest PRSPs available and has guidelines and other practical resources.

http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/strategies/

(Added: Fri Mar 14 2003   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 372)

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs): A Rough Guide

Bretton Woods Project, April 2003. In September 1999 the World Bank and the IMF approved the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers approach. At the time Bretton Woods Project published an "ABC to PRSPs". Since then 28 countries have completed a full Poverty Reduction Strategy document another 45 countries have produced an interim document. The aim of this short briefing is to provide information to a non-specialist audience on some key aspects of PRSPs. It does not cover all areas or provide detailed strategic insights.

http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/article.shtml?cmd[126]=x-126-16298

(Added: Thu Aug 26 2004   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 378)

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