CPRC - Policy

An important goal of the CPRC is to provide research, analysis and policy guidance that will contribute to the reduction of chronic poverty. This policy area of the website is intended to present further relevant findings from our research in a concise and accessible manner. It is divided into five sections:

An introduction and overview
Chronic Poverty Reports: this area of the site presents our flagship policy analysis publication, the Chronic Poverty Report 2008, along with more than 30 related policy papers and briefings, and previous Reports (global and country-specific).
Policies for the chronically poor, presenting our briefing papers on key policies to eliminate chronic poverty;
Chronic poverty and wider development debates, showing how chronic poverty links to other development issues, such as around the MDGs;
Meeting policy challenges, discussing particular challenges from the politics of change and reform to the use of data and research.

Our country pages are also highly relevant: these give contact details for our partners, an overview of chronic poverty and poverty policy in their countries, and links to their work.

Much of our policy work is ongoing, and these pages will be regularly updated as new work is available. While it has not been possible to completely eliminate technical jargon, we are working on a glossary of key terms make it more accessible.

Introduction

Why chronic poverty is important for policy makers

Chronic poverty blights the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the world, over 450 million according to the latest estimates. In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is likely that chronic poverty describes the situation of around 25% of the population. Meanwhile, even in rapidly growing economies like those of India and China, tens or even hundreds of millions of people remain trapped in poverty, seeing little benefit from their country's increasing prosperity. Chronic poverty is not, therefore, the problem of a ‘residual’ few, waiting to be reached by development; it exists even in some of contemporary international development’s ‘success stories’.

A focus on chronic poverty can illuminate a range of entry points into ‘virtuous cycles’ of equity, citizenship and well-being. Arguably, an understanding of chronic poverty and how it can be effectively overcome also contains the means to address other key challenges of today:

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be achieved without delivering policies effectively for chronically poor people;
understanding how poverty can persist alongside growth, and markets can fail to reduce poverty, can help us learn how to promote environmentally-sustainable and people-centred economic growth;
building gender equity: women are disproportionately trapped in persistent poverty, and the evidence is clear that improving human development outcomes is greatly enabled by women’s active and equitable participation in society. Progress on women’s rights and gender equity will require both an appreciation of how women’s chronic poverty comes about, and a commitment to ending it;
battling HIV/AIDS and other human health pandemics is a crucial part of the struggle against poverty, complementing efforts at strengthening the assets and livelihood security of chronically poor people, and protecting them from the devastating impact of ill health;
ending the injustice of people living their whole lives in poverty – knowing full well that poverty is the likely fate of their children too – can strengthen attempts to develop systems of accountable governance, and reduces the likelihood of political instability, conflict and terrorism.

Finally, confronting such persistent, severe and widespread poverty is clearly an ethical issue – we all share a moral responsibility to participate in the alleviation and eradication of global chronic poverty.

It is important to focus on chronic poverty now – and not assume that growth and human development alone will eventually move the chronically poor into a non-poor status. If we don’t confront chronic poverty now, the challenges will only grow. The longer we leave it, the more costly, technically complex and politically difficult it will become for countries and aid efforts to have a significant impact on poverty.

What policy against chronic poverty looks like

One of the world’s most renowned NGOs, Bangladesh’s BRAC, launched a programme called “Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targetting the Ultra-Poor” (CFPR/TUP) in 2004. The inspiration for this was the organisation’s conclusion that existing microfinance, livelihood support and social programmes – while valuable to many Bangladeshis living in poverty – were not reaching or helping the very poorest people. A different approach was needed, and BRAC set about designing programmes of asset transfers and livelihood promotion aimed at those for whom even micro-loans were too big a risk to take on. The programme also attempts to link the very poorest to BRAC's social programmes (e.g. health promotion, legal aid), and eventually for them to 'graduate' to a microfinance scheme.

To the extent that people in chronic poverty are also the poorest (and there is at least considerable overlap between these categories), this case helps demonstrate how policy to assist chronically poor people may have to be different to policy to combat poverty overall. An approach based on poverty dynamics - analysing the processes that drive people into poverty, or maintain them in poverty, and those that can help people escape poverty – can help suggest what the key interventions may be for reducing poverty in a particular context. This helps us to understand how the different ways that people participate in both economic growth and wider society either keep them poor, or help them improve their lot. For example:

Analysis of poverty dynamics in rural India over the last 30 years shows that gaining possession of certain key assets (e.g. land, livestock) was one key route out of poverty. Other factors correlated with higher levels of escape from poverty were: proximity to urban areas; a higher level of village infrastructure (e.g. irrigation facilities); and proximity to markets. But there was no sign that a simple increase in agricultural output was linked to escape from poverty; and despite steady growth in agriculture, levels of chronic poverty remained high. Policies to boost rural infrastructure and access to markets, and ensure a more equitable distribution of assets, are suggested here.
Research on intergenerational poverty highlights the particular importance of maternal and child nutrition and healthcare, and going beyond basic education to include preschool, primary and secondary, in breaking cycles of poverty. It also points to the critical role of nurture in preparing children for the challenges of escaping poverty. Mothers in poor households, often shouldering multiple burdens of domestic and income-earning responsibilities, may be forced to forego time spent caring for their children to earn essential income. Children themselves may have to go out to work. Policies to ease this burden - whether through social protection transfers such as child grants, or better wages, conditions and rights for low-paid workers - may have benefits not only in terms of household income, but also in child nurture and long-term reductions in poverty.
As chronic poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, integrated action in more than one area may be necessary to 'unlock' poverty traps. For example, not only economic and infrastructure policies to stimulate rural growth, social protection programmes to provide some measure of income security and make investment possible - and perhaps socio-political action, to allow people to seek new livelihoods and escape debt-bondage without fear of punishment from local elites.

The politics of policy for the poor and social change

CPRC work highlights how poverty is perpetuated through inequalities of power; not only in the political sphere, where the better-off tend to dominate positions of power and set agendas, but also in the economy (e.g. between bonded labourers and their employers/creditors), and in social and cultural practices, from local level exclusion of some individuals from village support networks (e.g. widows, or migrants) to widespread stereotyping of the poor (or particular groups) as 'lazy' or 'backward'.

Adopting and implementing policies to adress chronic poverty may therefore present significant political challenges. However, they are not necessarily insurmountable, as our "Politics of What Works" studies suggest. Getting action to tackle chronic poverty on to mainstream political agendas may require engaging in the ‘battle of ideas’ over the causes of poverty, and taking on negative stereotyping of the poor. Getting policies adopted often involves work on the details of specific proposals, including attempts to forecast impacts – and costs and funding possibilities. Securing effective implementation is another challenge, where the interests and beliefs of ‘street level officials’ (e.g. local government officers, police, doctors) and local elites may come between the chronically poor and their rights.

These varied tasks may be taken on by a wide range of actors, including members of the state bureaucracy and the government; social movements that include the chronically poor – often organised around particular issues, like land or housing rights; political parties; international development agencies; and to an extent by researchers and academics. For monitoring implementation there is perhaps a particularly valuable role for civil society organisations, in holding the state (or other implementing agencies) to account when implementation falls short of what is required - whether through negotiation or participatory management, working with the media, pursuing breaches of legislation through courts and tribunals, or mobilising for protest or direct action.

These processes may therefore throw up some surprising coalitions. For example, sometimes it may be possible - to some extent - to make gains for the poor even within unequal or exploitative relationships: for example, a case study of Bangladesh's Vulnerable Groups programmes notes both that the programme was introduced by a military rather than a democratic government, and that it in part owes its survival to meeting the needs of local political elites, rather than attacking them. For many of the poor, open confrontation with elites carries high risks, including further impoverishment or violence; ways of improving their position while avoiding such dangers are needed. But in other cases, people may be prepared to take more confrontational approaches – or a mixture of challenge, negotation and compromise.

Long-term processes of social change, such as urbanisation or demographic change, may be some of the most powerful drivers of poverty reduction. Here the key is to find the policy 'levers' which can influence such large-scale processes. Again, while attention to the context and detail clearly remain vital to effective policy, and the Chronic Poverty Report 2008 will explore actions for different contexts in much greater depth, these are among the key interventions:

social assistance, which not only prevents descent into poverty but enables chronically poor people to climb out of poverty;
asset redistribution, e.g. through land and tenancy reform, taxation and public expenditure;
pro-poor growth, particularly through labour markets that work better for casual labourers, and improved rural infrastructure;
good quality health and education provision - from preschool to secondary, including in isolated rural areas;
respect for the civil and political rights and freedoms which enable the emergence of social and political movements that include the chronically poor.

These themes are taken up by the forthcoming Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09, which looks at the relationship between policies - on growth, security, assets and other areas - and the kinds of long-term social and political change necessary for the eradication of chronic poverty. Click here to contact CPRC's Knowledge Manager to receive notification of the launch of the Report.

Further sections of this policy page set out the key issues in relation to these policy areas, show how chronic poverty is linked to other areas of development policy, and explore some key challenges of effective action against poverty.

Further introductory reading

Braunholtz-Speight, T. (2007) An introduction to chronic poverty, CPRC Policy Brief 1.

Policies for the chronically poor

Social protection

The CPRC has looked particularly at the role that social protection can play for chronically poor people. ‘Social protection’ has become a widely used term in development recently. Here we mean programmes which provide direct cash or in-kind transfers to poor and vulnerable people. These include: cash transfers (e.g. pensions, child benefits, disability grants, social assistance), employment guarantee programmes, input distribution programmes (e.g. agricultural ‘starter packs’) and subsidised access to services (e.g. health insurance subsidies, user fee exemptions, discounted water and energy prices).

We argue that social protection programmes should be at the core of strategies to end chronic poverty. They can do more than help people just above the poverty line manage risk and avoid falling into poverty. They can also help people trapped in chronic poverty build assets and escape poverty. Programmes that do this are technically feasible and financially affordable in many low income countries. The policy briefs below give an overview of how social protection can combat chronic poverty; answer some of the common objections to such programmes in low income countries; and illustrate what this mans in a real setting, in this case Uganda.

Scott, J. (2008 forthcoming) Social protection: top priority to end chronic poverty, Policy Brief to be published to accompany the launch of the Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09

Marcus, R. (2007) Social protection transfers for chronically poor people, CPRC Policy Brief 2

Marcus, R. (2007) Tackling obstacles to social protection transfers for chronically poor people, CPRC Policy Brief 3

Lwanga-Ntale, C. (2006) A social protection agenda for Uganda’s poorest of the poor, CPRC-Uganda Policy Brief 2/2006

Mugambe, B. (2006) Targeting and protecting the chronically poor in Uganda: A case for the elderly, CPRC-Uganda Policy Brief 3/2006

Namuddu, J. (2007) Social protection and cash transfers in Uganda: frequently asked questions, CPRC-Uganda Policy Brief 1/2007.

Barrientos, A. and Holmes, R. (2007) Social Assistance in developing countries database, version 3.0

Further relevant material can be found with the social protection "suggested search" on our publications database

Growth and the chronically poor (forthcoming)

A Policy Brief on this topic will be published on July 8th 2008 to coincide with the launch of the second Chronic Poverty Report.

Redistribution and revenue mobilisation (forthcoming)

The fiscal system is a key instrument for building a pro-poor social compact, and ensuring that the chronically poor benefit from economic growth. CPRC policy work on this topic can be found in the Growth Policy Brief above, and the second Chronic Poverty Report

Chronic poverty and wider development debates

Meeting the MDGs

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) remain one of the central organising frameworks for international development. Our briefing paper and public meeting (links below) took the opportunity of the official ‘midpoint’ of the MDG process to examine what the MDGs can do for people in chronic poverty, and how their usefulness might be improved.

ODI/CPRC meeting: do people in chronic poverty gain anything from the MDGs?

Braunholtz-Speight, T. (2007) Chronic Poverty and the MDGs, CPRC Policy Brief 6.

Working Paper 48 also examines the distribution of international aid, looking at which donors favour which countries, in the light of calls for development assistance to be stepped up to meet the MDGs:

Baulch, B. (2004) Aid distribution and the MDGs, CPRC working paper 48, Manchester: IDPM/Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC).

Violent conflict and fragile states (forthcoming)

A Policy Brief on this topic will be published on July 8th 2008 to coincide with the launch of the second Chronic Poverty Report.

Meeting policy challenges

Beyond the specifics of particular policy debates, we also look at issues in the policy process; for example, the politics of change, or the role of data and evidence in policy-making.

The politics of what works: getting policy against chronic poverty implemented

The role that politics plays in shaping efforts towards poverty reduction has received growing recognition within international development over the past decade, from the 'good governance’ agenda to attempts to encourage the formation of ‘developmental states’. Nonetheless, there is as yet little firm evidence concerning what sorts of political systems or practices might be more likely to produce pro-poor outcomes. Development theory and practice thus often resorts to poorly-grounded assumptions concerning the role of politics. Sometimes this results from a reliance on ideological conviction or optimism rather than historical evidence, while in other cases politics is seen only as an obstacle to development: the scapegoat for ‘what went wrong’.

However, politics underpins the success as well as the failure of poverty reduction initiatives. CPRC undertook a number of case studies of policies and programmes that have been successful in terms of reducing extreme forms of poverty. By thus examining the actual politics of ‘what works’ in some cases, we hope to contribute to filling the evidence gap and, through careful analysis, contribute to better theory and practice.

The policy brief below summarises the findings; the full-length synthesis of the case studies will also be available on this website at a future date.

Hickey, S. and Braunholtz-Speight, T. (2007) The politics of what works in tackling chronic poverty, CPRC Policy Brief 5.

Reaching the poorest: ‘What works for the poorest?” research summary

Policies and programmes aimed at helping ‘the poor’ don’t necessarily reach the very poorest people, nor deal with some of the traps that keep people in chronic poverty - as we noted in the introduction to these policy pages. A recent conference in Bangladesh, co-sponsored by the CPRC, took the question “What works for the poorest?” as its title. With participation from local and international researchers, policymakers and activists, it examined a host of initiatives, from microfinance to social justice campaigns. A summary of the conference was produced to launch the CPRC Research Summary series.

Moore, K. and Braunholtz-Speight, T. (2007) What works for the poorest? Knowledge, policy and practices, CPRC Research Summary 1.

Evidence, data, poverty and pro-poor policy

As a research centre working on poverty, CPRC is clearly concerned with questions about the generation of data on poverty and the role that this plays in action to reduce poverty. Existing relevant CPRC work – on research methods and ethics (including the ownership of data), disseminating research and engaging with policymakers and the media – can be accessed below. Forthcoming work will explore further issues such as the role of measurement in understanding poverty, the importance of disaggregated data for policy, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods, and the relationship between different types of evidence, political context and development narratives.

CPRC Methods Toolbox
Whose data? Stealing from the poor
Policy Influencing and Media Engagement Resource Pack

Research to policy: CPRC’s approach to policy engagement

Informing policy for the chronically poor involves working in contested policy spaces. Some influential parties may not engage with the issues; some do not think chronic poverty requires additional analysis. Others are not aware of the complexity involved, or suggest the solutions are already in place. The policy engagement process to be undertaken by the CPRC is complex and involves multiple channels and actors – national governments, international agencies, the media and a wide range of other potential actors in civil and political society. Reflection on this process will form part of the learning experience of the CPRC and inform wider debates on policy processes. The CPRC has developed a policy engagement strategy to help maximise the contribution that its research makes to the reduction of chronic poverty. Underlying this strategy is an analysis of the relationship between researchers and policy processes that is summarised in the document below, which is an extract from the engagement strategy.

Harper, C. (2006) Research to policy: seven aspects of the problem, extract from CPRC Policy Engagement Strategy.

Chronic Poverty Research Centre

Policy