IMPLEMENTING POLICY GUIDANCE ON PROPOOR GROWTH Solveig Buhl

IMPLEMENTING POLICY GUIDANCE ON PRO-POOR GROWTH Solveig Buhl, OECD Taking Action for the World’s Poor and Hungry People Beijing, 17 -19 October

DAC POVERTY REDUCTION NETWORK (POVNET) 2003 -2006 ECONOMIC Consumption Income Assets Focus on the economic dimension of poverty

POVNET: Developing policy guidance on pro-poor growth Based on the experience of DAC POVNET member countries: Policy guidelines that enhances the ability of poor people to participate in, contribute to and benefit from growth

FOR DONORS, NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL • Donors need to be more flexible and responsive to country situations and processes • The engagement between policy makers, private sector and civil society needs to be strengthened • The poor need to be informed and empowered to participate in the policy making process • Policy trade-offs exist but can be better managed • Rethink approaches: private sector development, infrastructure and agriculture

INFRASTRUCTURE: FACTS • The infrastructure gaps are huge: 1 billion people lack road access, 1. 2 billion do not have safe water Photo: Sida • Bilateral donor support to infrastructure decreased from 35% of total ODA in 1997 to 15% in 2003

INFRASTRUCTURE: KEY POLICY MESSAGES TO DONORS • Support partner-led frameworks • Enhance infrastructure’s impact on poor people (target the poor) • Improve management of infrastructure investment to achieve sustainable outcomes • Increase infrastructure financing and use all financial resources efficiently

AGRICULTURE: FACTS • 75% of the world’s poor live in rural areas • 10% increase in farm yields may reduce number of people living below 1 USD/day by 6 -10% © International Labour Organization/Maillard • ODA support to agriculture decreased from 11% in 1984 to 3% in 2004

AGRICULTURE: KEY POLICY MESSAGES TO DONORS • Recognize diversity of rural households • Build household assets, reduce barriers and expand access to markets • Support diversified livelihoods • Tackle risk and vulnerability through insurance and productive safety nets

PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT: FACTS • 75% of non-agricultural work force in Africa earns its livelihood informally • DAC members spend roughly 15 -20 % of bilateral ODA on support to private sector development

PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT: KEY POLICY MESSAGES TO DONORS • Strengthen enabling environment • Recognize contribution by informal firms and workers and reduce disincentives to formalisation • Facilitate risk taking • Promote dialogue between state, private sector and civil society • Link / merge with PRS

POVERTY IMPACT ASSESSMENT: New approach to guide implementation of policy guidance PIA is a harmonised approach that helps donors and their partners • take evidence-based decisions • to maximise the pro-poor impacts of their programmes and policies • to assess the distributional impacts of interventions

PIA FRAMEWORKS AND MODULES PIA Modules Assess Improvements to MDGs plus 5 National Strategies / Plans Country Assistance Strategies aps Determine & Design Interventions and g 1 Analyse Institutions & Stakeholders Risks uality 2 Determine transmission channels (prices, employment, transfers, access, authority, assets) q ation 3 Inform 4 Assess enhancement to capabilities (economic, protective, political, cultural, human) – gender/environment R E S U L T S C H A I N

WAY FORWARD • POVNET country workshops to operationalize the policy recommendations on country level • Promoting Poverty Impact Assessments (scaling up and capacity development in partner countries)

FOR FURTHER READING. . . www. oecd. org/dac/poverty Thank you!