Can the poor influence policy? : participatory poverty assessments in the developing world

This new report offers a fresh approach that gives the poor a voice that has been absent in the past. How can the poor, so removed from the powerful, influence national policy? The Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs) are responding to the challenge of inclusion by directly presenting to policy makers the views of the poor as part of a national dialogue to influence policy. This paper summarizes the World Bank's experience over the past five years in using the PPAs. The report is divided into three main parts. The first part examines the status of the PPAs. The second part analyzes their impact. The third part discusses the good practices emerging from the PPAs. Two main messages emerge from the study: i. Poverty: The PPAs have consistently shown that poor people can identify different dimensions of poverty other than those usually used in policy analysis (income and consumption). These new dimensions include vulnerability, physical and social isolation, security, self-respect, powerlessness, and dignity. ii. Policy: Experience with the PPAs indicates that where there is a broad policy dialogue on poverty that includes civil society groups, the constituency of reform is widened, ownership is increased, and the resulting policy is more likely to be implemented.