Assessment of Micro-Macro Linkages in Poverty Alleviation: South Asia Assessment of Micro-Macro Linkages in Poverty Alleviation: South Asia

Un i ted Nations Deve l o p m e nt Prog ra m m e Eva l u ation Of f i ce

UNITED NATIONS DEV E LOPMENT PRO G RA M M E EVA LUATION OFFICE

Octo ber 2003 The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily rep r esent those of the member countries of the UNDP Exec u t i v e Bo a r d or of those institutions of the United Nat i o ns system that are mentioned herein. The designations and terminology employed and the presentation of material do not imply any expression of opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nat i o ns conc e r ning the legal status of any country, te r ri t o r y, ci t y or area, or of its authorities, or of its frontiers or boundaries.

Design: Colonial Communications Corp., Staten Island, NY Production: AK Office Supply,New York,NY ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA Foreword

The Assessment of Mi c ro - M ac r o Linkages in Pov erty All ev i a t i o n : South Asia pr esents a revi e w of the results of pover ty allev i a t i o n prog r ammes in the sub-reg i o n during the last seven yea r s with special re fe rence to Bangladesh, In d i a , Nep a l , Pakistan and Sri La n k a .G overn m e n t s in these countries have long given high priority to poverty reduction, both in national po l i c y and prog ra m m e s . This emphasis continues in national pover ty red u c t i o n strat e g i e s , es p e c i a l ly now in the context of achi e ving the Millennium Devel o p ment Goals (MDGs ) . The UNDP Evaluation Office comm i s s i o ned desk res e a r ch in the five countries to survey results and lessons learned from various pover ty allev i a t i o n pro g ra m m e s ,w h i ch have been syn t h e s i z ed and incorpo r ated in this rep o rt . The cons u l t a t i o ns for this reg i o nal assessment involved discussions with key government representatives, civil society organizations, res e a r chers and NGOs from the reg i on . The major aim was to draw eva l u a t i v e evidence by su r veying existing studies to examine how to look at micro experi e n c e s ,h ow they relate to the macro, and what the linkages ultimately lead to in terms of wider devel o p ment impact. The issue of micro-micro linkages is a critical, and often overlooked, dimension of poverty and other forms of social and economic exclusion. Given the large number of micro level interventions, including the South Asia Poverty Alleviation Programme (SAPAP), it is critical to know the connection between the value of social mobilization and a demonstrated influence on macro-level poverty reduction, which should be examined through empirical evidence. Have the efforts led to improved development outcomes in terms of reduced poverty or better human development indicators in the sub-region? The lessons learned from the efforts of UNDP and partners indicate that th e r e needs to be a colle c t i v e approa c h that should be flexible enough to reflect the specific context of the country and link national (macro) and local (micro) interventions into the overa l l aim of pover ty red u c t i on . This will req u i r e new ways of worki n g , ne w joint ven t u re s with a broader range of partners to foster national ownership of prog ra m m e s ,i n c luding poor people themselves and, ab o ve all, gr eater political comm i t m e n t . The rep o r t suggests policy recommendations aimed at improving the situation. We hope that this assessment will provoke renewed discussion around operational st ra t e g y devel o p ment and conc e r ted action, by the countries themselves and by the dono r com mu n i t y in general . It is also expected to cont r ibute to cros s - re g i o nal learning in other reg i o ns conf r onting similar issues. A workshop organized by the UNDP Evaluation Office and the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific to launch the assessment in 2002 attrac t e d ma n y cont ri b u t i o ns from South Asian participants and the rel e vant UNDP country offices, generating diverse perspectives on strengthening micro-macro linkages.The Evaluation Office would like to acknowledge their engagement and support. We would also like to thank S.Nanthikesan for producing this synthesis report and the national researchers, Q.M. Ahmed, M.M. Akash, S.M. Dev, S. Galab, B. Hewavitharana, N.S. Jodha, and S. Ray, for producing the country assessments. We welcome future dialogue with all our partners on the key issues raised in the report and the approach set out, and look forward to future collaborations.

Nurul Alam Acting Director Evaluation Office UNDP i ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA Contents

Fo rewo rd i

Exe c u t i ve Su m m a ry i i i

1 . I nt rod u ct i o n 1

2 . Co n ceptual Fra m ewo rk of Mi c ro - Ma c ro Linka g e s 4

3 . The Ma c roe conomic and Po l i cy Env i ro n m e nt 9

4 . An a l ysis of Mi c ro - Ma c ro Linka g e s 2 5

5 . Lessons Le a rn e d 3 7

6 . R e co m m e n d at i o n s 4 3

An n exe s 4 5 I. Terms of Reference 46 II. Acronyms 49 III. List of Documents Consulted 51 IV. List of People Interviewed 54 V. List of Figures and Tables 55

i i Executive Summary ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

1 . PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF that these micro initiatives would,in and THE REGIONAL ASSESSMENT of themselves ,s i g n i f i ca n t l y reduce the high incidence of poverty in the sub-region. This rep o r t assesses the linkages betwe e n Instead, one of the principal goals of pa rt i c i p a t o r y pover ty allev i a t i o n sche m e s these initiatives was the incorporation of and macro- l e vel pover ty allev i a t i o n policy in f o rm a t i o nal channels aimed at impacting i n i t i a t i ves in five countries in So u t h the effec t i v eness of macro policy mecha n i s m s . Asia, namely, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, It was hoped that concrete experience at Pakistan and Sri Lan k a . It is not a general the gras s - r oots level would help the “ma c r o” study of the successes and/or failures of identify the factors rel e vant to improvi n g either macro pover ty allev i a t i o n initiatives targeting and delivery. In particular, it or community-level poverty alleviation was hoped that lessons learned would be programmes; its principal focus is an transmitted regarding the components assessment of linkages between the micro n e c e s s a ry for successfully nego t i a t i n g and macro poverty alleviation initiatives the constraints arising from the macro that contribute to their effectiveness. policy regime and its interaction with Par ticular attention is given to the linkages existing initial conditions. flowing from the former to the latter. In February of 2002, the Evaluation A reg i o nal assessment was underta k e n Office (EO) of UNDP convened a meeting to draw out general lessons from a that launched an in-depth assessment of the comparison of countries that had diverse mi c ro - m a c r o linkages that cont r ibuted to po ver ty profiles and policy reg i m e s .T h e s e the effec t i v eness of UNDP’s devel o pm e n t lessons are expected to provide valuable efforts in South Asia. The meeting was input for future policy recommendations titled “Assessing Linkages betw e e n and programme design practices of the Macro and Micro Level Initiatives in UNDP in wide-ranging contexts. South Asia” and was held in New Delhi, India. It was recognized that a regional perspective on the micro-macro linkage 2 . BAC KG RO U N D would be useful for future country programming and regional initiatives. The top-heavy, s u p p ly-side focus of Con s e q u e n t l y, a reg i o nal assessment study n a t i onal pove rty all ev i a t i on measure s based on individual country assessments had long been identified as inhibiting was initiated. The analysis was based on the fight against poverty in the region. em p i ri c al evidence documented in UNDP’s In response, the UNDP began work on Re s u l t s - O r iented Annual Reports (ROAR ) participatory pilot programmes at the and various Poverty Reduction Strategy com mu n i t y level in six South Asian Papers (PRSPs). countries under the South Asian Poverty In analysing the micro macro linkages, A ll ev i a t i on Pro g ramme (SAPAP) in this regional report is primarily based on 1994. Other international agencies such the country assessments and cons u l t a t i on s . as UNCDF, Aus t r alian Aid, Wor ld Bank, It mainly focuses on state-spons o r ed macro SI D A and DFID, am o ng others, had also poverty alleviation initiatives, based on a funded similar prog ra m m e s . In addition, sy nthesis of key findings from the country there was a plethora of comparable local as s e s s m e n t s .E x p e r iences of micro initiatives initiatives in the South Asian region. sponsored by UNDP and other donor These programmes were based on social agencies were presented in most reports, mo b i l i za t i o n for sustainable self-devel o p - but some focused exclusively on SAPAP i v ment. However, it was not anticipated pr ojects (e.g. the country rep o r t for India). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3 . MAIN FINDINGS: de c e n t ra l i za t i o n was not comm e n s u r ate with M I C RO - M AC RO LINKAG E S fiscal decentralization, which prevented the flow of resources and information to Lo oking at loca l - l evel pro g ra m m e s the local leve l . Thus inappro p ri a t e ly studied in the country reports through fu n c t i o ning decentral i za t i o n could hinder the lens of micro-macro linkages led to micro-macro linkage. the following categorization of results: The La chi and No rt h e rn Are a Development Plan projects in Pakistan 3 . 1 . Mi c ro Fa i l u res and Fa i l u re were also local successes. However they to Influence Ma c ro Ef fo rt s entered the local scene as a part of the Interventions that failed locally without wider rural support programme (RSP) leaving any legacy cannot alter the that existed in the region and had a micro-macro linkages. The KST project proven successful track record. This was in Bangladesh belonged to this category. also the case for the SAPAP project in It was not rep l i c ated and had ver y limited Andhra Pradesh in India, which was but impact on macro policy making. The a small part of the poverty alleviation Re h a b i l i t a t i o n of Wat e r logged and Sal i n e i n i t i a t i ves undertaken by the state Land project in Pakistan was another government, GOI and NGOs. example of failure, due to lack of To add value to the engagement demand and ow n e r s h i p. T h e re was with the macro, projects have to come up cultural dissonance regarding the goal with distinct and more creative models of using reclaimed land for agriculture. of civic engagement than those that already exist. Otherwise they contribute 3 . 2 . Mi c ro Su c cesses without little to altering existing block a g e s L i n kages to Ma c ro Ef fo rt s between the micro and the macro in Th e r e were interven t i o ns that left positive the form of perceptions, information outcomes at the local level but failed to asymmetry, institutional mismatch and influence the macro. At least three country asymmetric power relations. examples illustrate this case, namely, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and to an extent, India. 3 . 3 . Mi c ro Su c cesses with The Nuwara Eliya project in Sri Lanka L i n kages to Ma c ro Ef fo rt s yielded mixed results local ly.This proj e c t Interventions that succeeded at the local did accomplish modest civil society level and influenced the macro were also mobilization and established horizontal observed in the country studies. Despite links. However, it came into conflict the abject macro cond i t i o ns that cont i n u e with existing state-spon s o red pove rty to plague Nep a l , the SAPAP prog ra m m e all ev i a t i o n proj e c t s , su c h as Janasaviya and in the country was “su c c e s s f u l” . A proj e c t Samurdhi, engaged in similar activities. started in one district involving 5,910 As ym m e t r ic power rel a t i o ns between the members. It was then extended to the mi c r o and the macro resulted in the proj e c t me s o - l e ve l ,c over ing 270,000 households, lacking state ownership/commitment. thanks partly to the strong commitment In the Sri Lankan situation there from the State and UNDP. There are was an added dimension to the problems several reasons for this success. the project had to confront. It faced an First, the programme was designed institutional mismatch in the form of to utilize the existing structures, such as d ys f u n c t i onal decentra l i za t i on , w h i ch VDC that were involved with poverty contributed to a disconnect between the re d u c t i on measures underwritten by micro and the macro. The administrative GON, NGOs and donors. Secondly, at v ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

the design and functioning stages, ef f o rt s approach that regarded the poor as a were made to link the project with the m onolithic entity that is vulnera b l e, macro. For instance, SAPAP was linked without agency and incapable of articu- with the District Development Council lating its interes t s . The poor on the other (DDC) that served as the focal point for hand, perceived the State as a static and l o cal deve l o pment administra t i on in monolithic entity that is perpetually deaf Nepal. In addition, SAPAP formed a to their interests, as evidenced by their Di s t r ict Coordi n a t i o n Committee (DCC) e n t re n ched pove rty. T h ey tended to that linked all line agencies of the GON be l i e ve actions to seek rep re s e n t a t i o n and in the district and the SAPAP — a move remedy would not effect any changes. that provided a horizontal and vertical These attitudes and perce p t i o ns cons t i t u t e d link for the micro. Finally, the SAPAP pro g r amme rec e i v ed strong comm i t m e n t the barriers of communication between from GON and was a novel concept in mi c r o- and macro- l e vel anti-pover ty efforts . the Nepalese context. Closer scrutiny of these categories of Information asymmetry and deficit results points to some key determinants The macro lacks information on the that influence the micro-macro linkages, priorities and needs of the poor; thus it which are presented below. la c ks knowledge of targets and approp ri a t e delivery mechanisms. The poor, on the 3 . 4 . Key De te rm i n a nts of other hand, la c k knowledge of the res o u rc e s Mi c ro - Ma c ro Linka g e s that are accessible, the opportunities that An a lysis of the five country re p o rt s are available and the synergies that are showed recurring problems of targeting possible when social mobilizat i o n is coupled and delive ry with macro initiative s with the establishment of horizontal and against poverty. Similarly, community- vertical links. level programmes, even when successful, had frequently failed to influence policy Institutional mismatch between at the macro level . These rec u r r ing prob l e m s target and delivery mechanisms cannot be explained as simply arising Linkages between the macro and the micro from a lack of available resources. They also point to persistent cons t r aints operat i n g also were inhibited by the inefficiencies at differ ent reg i s t e r s . Based on informa t i o n of political and economic institutions. fr om the country rep o rt s , four dimensions For instance, as the Sri Lankan study may be discerned in which the factors pointed out, inadequate political and contributing to the disconnect between ad m i n i s t ra t i v e decentral i za t i o n would act the micro and the macro operat e , na m e l y: as a barrier to the channels of tran s m i s s i o n b e tween the macro and the micro. 1. Perceptions and attitudes regarding Persistent exclusion from political power each other 2. In f o rm a t i o n asymm e t r y and/or deficit has left the poor with limited institutiona l 3. In s t i t u t i o nal mismatch between target arrangements to convey their aspirations (and needs) and deliver y mecha n i s m s to the centre. As evidenced from all country 4. Unequal power relations studies, markets and public institutions had not been able to rea c h the ultra poor, Perceptions and attitudes who could not meaningfully influence regarding each other the micro-macro information channels; Early efforts by the State in all five thus they remain excluded from macro v i countries had been characterized by an decision-making processes. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Unequal power relations rec o g n i z e that the devel o p ment assistance This is perhaps the most important of all provided by UNDP is but a fraction of dimensions and even may be at the root the total assistance received by all five of the other three factors,de s c r ibed above. co u n t r ies cons i d e re d .C on s e q u e n t l y, UN D P It concerns the lack of political will on cannot expect to wield influence with the part of the macro to establish links governments based on the merits of its with stakeholders. A meaningful attack financial con t ri b u t i on s . T h e re f o re, t o on large-scale pove rty re q u i res more influence the micro - m a c ro linkages, than a tax and transfer approach. The UNDP has to be judiciously strategic in deep redistributive efforts required to or che s t r ating its strengths and experie n c e address large-scale poverty would face on the ground in each country. resistance from the status quo. Mo re o ver , the exclu s i o n of the poor from econom i c I . Holistic Ap p roach and political structures leaves them with to Pove rty Al l ev i at i o n little voice or choice in decision-making Just as poverty is multi-dimensional, so p ro c e s s e s .E ven when the centre is willi n g too are the strategies to alleviate poverty to listen, l o cal hiera rchies vested in and their attendant micro- m a c r o linkages. maintaining the status quo often block For instance, to ensure that success in voices of the poor being transmitted cr edit mobilizat i o n is sustainable, it has to “upstream”. As a result, there was very be attended by an expansion of prod u c t i v e limited political space and commitment o p p o rtunities and market access for for opening up channels of commu n i ca t i o n products. At the same time, public insti- between the macro and the micro. These tutions and markets should receive much determinants seldom exist as entirely more emphasis as they influence people’s s e p a rate ca t e go ri e s . T h ey were oft e n income and access to resources. Thus pr esent together in instances of inhibited efforts to mobilize capital should build, m a c ro - m i c ro linkages and should be simultaneously, horizontal linkages for rec o g n i z ed as fundamentally interli n k e d . potential markets and income opportu n i t i e s Neve rt h e l e s s , it is also important to to escape the low-equilibrium trap, as identify these as related but distinct we l l as vert i c al rel a t i on s h i p s .H ow e ver , th e dimensions of micro-macro links in the absence of credit insurance is likely to be South Asian region. de t r imental to efforts at credit mobilizat i o n in areas affected by conflict. Another instance in which a holistic 4 . MAIN LESSONS LEARNED approach to poverty alleviation is an immediate imperat i v e is when HIV / A I D S Over the last few decades UNDP has is an issue. Micro-macro links for the extended its work in well over one pr omo t i o n of awareness and dissemination hu n d r ed countrie s . Wor king with limited of preventive measures are weak in the resources it has built healthy working region. Lack of information and mis- pa r tnerships with gover nments and policy perceptions affect both the micro and makers around the globe. Its interven t i on s the macro. Policies on health insurance, h a ve demon s t rated its com m i t m e n t pr even t i v e public health services and making tow a r ds anti-pover ty initiatives and gained related drugs available at afford a b l e it the reputation of being a trustworthy p rices should become re s p on s i ve to p a rtner with sincere intentions and mi c ro - l e vel needs. Mi c ro - l e vel initiatives sound approaches against poverty. need to work at the household level That being said, it is also important to towards overcoming the cultural stigma v i i ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

attached to the disease, which tends to and/or social status (tribals, lower-caste, prevent the affected from mobilizing. ultra poor, etc.). SHGs and VOs mobilized for anti- po ver ty efforts could serve as instrum e n t s I I I . Prog ramme De s i g n a n d to combat cultural stigma. St ra t e g i e s I m p l e m e nt ation to Ma x i m i ze along these lines should be explicitly Mi c ro - Ma c ro Linka g e s i n cluded on the agenda of UNDP- ■ s u p p o rted anti-pove rty effort s , w h i ch Avoid building conflicting parallel should also include development of the st ruc tu re s . When formulating micro- capacities of those already, or at risk of level programmes, careful attention being, affected by HIV/AIDS. must be paid to avoid building s t ru c t u res of delive ry para llel to I I . Focused Prog ra m m e s existing ones. UNDP’s intervention Se l e cted for Maximum V i s i b i l i ty in Sri Lanka ended up cre a t i n g and Influence on Ma c ro s t ru c t u res para llel to the existing In the context of limited res o u rc e s ,s u p p o r t anti-poverty initiatives of the State. for micro- l e vel prog r ammes cannot mean The ensuing conflict undermined pro l i fe ra t i o n of UNDP’s invo l ve m e n t .I n the chances of success of the UNDP fa c t , it becomes essential that prog ra m m e s pro g ra m m e .A l t e rn a t i ve l y, the SAPAP be judiciously selected, not only based pro g r amme in Nepal utilized existing on their potential to reduce local pover ty, state institutions of delivery such as but also on the prog ra m m e ’s visibility and V DC s . This also provided a platform ef fe c t i v eness in influencing macro efforts . for closer interac t i o n between the Sta t e Prog r ammes should be selected becau s e and the programme, which resulted they make a distinctive contribution to in enhanced micro-macro linkages. enhancing micro-macro linkages rather ■ Institutionalize Linkages with the than to duplicating other anti-poverty State to Improve Micro - M a c ro efforts. The experiences of Sri Lanka, L i n k a g e . Du ring the opera t i on a l Pakistan and Andhra Pradesh confirm existence of the programme it would this. These interventions coexisted with be advantageous to establish horiz ont a l a plethora of other similar measures that and vertical links at various levels. in most instances had more reach than Suc h links and colla b o ra t i o n improve the UNDP initiatives. These initiatives, chances of sustainability and bring while being effective in their poverty sy nergies in the form of partn e r s h i p s . alleviation efforts, fell short of altering In Ne p a l , the successful micro - the outlook of the macro or of lowering i n i t i a t i ves established links with the barriers between the micro and the D i s t rict Deve l o pment Councils ma c r o. Co nver s e l y, a well- e x ecuted social and formed District Coordinating m o b i l i za t i on appro a ch was re l a t i ve ly Co mmittees that linked these initiatives novel to anti-poverty efforts in Nepal to all line agencies of GON in the and thus had an impact on the macro. In di s t ri c t . Sub s e q u e n t l y, DCCs becam e this context, UNDP could maximize its in s t i t u t i on a l i z ed vert i c al and horiz ont a l results on micro- m a c r o links by targeting links for the programme. gr oups that are marginalized in trad i t i on a l development practices. To do so, it was ■ Me s o - l e vel Constraints Need to Be n e c e s s a ry to identify re g i onal gro u p s Recognised. A disconnect between that are marginalized either because of the micro and the macro is some t i m e s v i i i their spatial location (e.g. remote areas) due to institutional anomalies that are EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

beyond the control of the designers Thus gender mainstreaming re q u i re s of the programme. One such set of sustained, proactive and skilled efforts to a n omalies stems from the meso- identify the forces and the opportunities le vel , as illu s t r ated by the dysf u n c t i on a l inv o l ved in the struggle against this district development councils in Sri hierarchy at macro and micro levels. Lanka. Partial and incomplete fiscal In f o rm a t i o n flow from the micro to the d e c e n t ra l i za t i on resulted in these ma c r o is cond i t i o ned by gender hierar chy. meso units, essentially inhibiting the Gender sensitive anti-pove rty effort s flow of resources and information could improve micro-macro linkages by between macro and micro. e m p ow e ring women stakeholders. A strengthened micro will be in a better I V.St rong St ate Ownership position to improve the linkages and to of Prog rammes Improve s influence the macro. The mobilize d Mi c ro - Ma c ro Linkages com mu n i t y could also address cros s c u t t i n g Commitment at the macro or meso level issues of gender through the activities of is vital for establishing vibrant links SHGs and VOs. To this effect, SHGs in between the micro and the macro. As India, for instance, could address issues discussed in the previous section,both in of female literacy, widow remarriages, Andhra Pradesh in India, and in Nepal, m a t e rnal mort a l i ty rates and child the governments were committed to the marriages. To strengthen these efforts, p ro g ra m m e .C ommitment of the State to UNDP should actively seek the input of the prog r amme was demons t r ated throu g h gender experts as well as relevant state di r ect parti c i p a t i o n and institutiona l i z i n g or g a n i za t i o ns (e.g. De p a r tment of Wome n the relationship (e.g.DCCs in Nepal). and Child Development in India) when In both cas e s , the prog r ammes were scal e d formulating its programmes. up to meso leve l . When there was ambivalence in the State’s commitment V I . Di s s e m i n ating Lessons (as in Bangladesh during the later stages is Es s e ntial for Improved of the KST proj e c t ) , or when there was near Mi c ro - Ma c ro Linkages hostility at operational level (as in Sri For UNDP to become a micro-macro Lanka),the programmes did not succeed linkage, it needs to persuasively commu- and failed to influence the macro. nicate to the macro the lessons from its mi c ro - l e vel anti-pover ty initiatives . V. Gender Ma i n s t re a m i n g Co u n t r y rep o r ts point to UNDP’s efforts This has emerged as a UNDP priority, such as dialogues with senior officials as reflected in the St rategic Results inv o l ved with a country’s macro initiatives , Fram ew o r k (SRF) and UNDAF themes. seminars and documenting best prac t i c e s Pove rty all ev i a t i on strategies have to and experience.These efforts need to be recognize social differentiation among strengthened, intensified and extended. the poor, of which gender is a significant For instance, soliciting active support one. Inequality along gender lines are from a mobilized civil society that has particularly important in a region where benefited from the micro - i n i t i a t i ve s a g g regated data show women are at would be helpful in strengthening the considerable disadvantage. This implies message to the macro. A reg i o nal excha n g e that community-level interventions of of documentation and inform a t i on UNDP that fail to explicitly recognize extended beyond national borders within this rea l i t y run the risk of rep r oducing and the South Asian region, annual regional entrenching existing gender inequalities. workshops on lessons learned regarding i x ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

micro-macro linkages, and a regional ■ U N D P’s social mobiliza t i on pro- res e a r ch centre invo l ving reg i o nal experts g rammes should be designed to to investigate related topics would all in c o rp o r ate in their mandates the need con t r ibute towa r ds enhancing micro- m a c r o to impact policym a k i n g, t h ro u g h linkages within the region. ad v o ca c y and action throughout their life spans. Programmes should have specific components for information 5 . MAIN RECO M M E N D AT I O N S tra n s f er to the macro and to influence its traj e c t o r y. Ev en when the size of the Close study of social-mobilisation based mi c r o initiative is rel a t i ve l y modest or antipoverty interventions pursued in the insignificant,appropriate design and South Asia region and their influence on fu n c t i o nal innova t i o ns could establish ma c r o level initiatives point towa r d a few positive micro-macro linkages. broad recommendations to strengthen ■ U N D P’s existing com p a ra t i ve micro-macro linkages. advantages in pove rty all ev i a t i on ■ UNDP’s interventions to alleviate in t e r ven t i o ns need to be nurtu r ed and poverty at the micro-level should be st r engthened so that UNDP can serve demand driven, with representatives as one of the linkages between micro of the stakeholders making explicit pr ocesses and macro policies. UN D P requests and revi ew s , and demons t ra t i n g should continue to disseminate lessons c ommitment to the pro g ra m m e . for the macro through ex-post an a l ysi s Successful micro initiatives should of its own experiences in operat i on a l - is i n g micro-projects. be refined, promoted and used as building blocks for expansion. In each ■ Poverty monitoring is critical for co u n t r y, su p p o r t should be prio ri t i ze d assessing current results and provi d i n g for a select few key programmes as fe e d b a ck for future interve n t i on s . pilots to provide a vision and road To evaluate micro-macro linkages, map for future macro initiatives. m on i t o ring activities need to be designed judiciously. Pa rt i c u l a rly, ■ UNDP should continue to advocate be n ch m a r king and choice of indicat o r s for more holistic and dyn a m i c at the micro level must take into ap p ro a c hes to anti-pover ty initiatives account their com p a t i b i l i ty and with policy makers and planners, comparability with the national level while supporting such approaches at d a t a .G i ven the social cleavages among the micro level. Design of holistic the poor, emphasis must also be initiatives should reflect: g i ven to identifying the linkages ➧ a multi-dimensional approach in between those marginalised at micro recognizing that the poor are l evel and macro initiative s . Fo r non-monolithic (e.g. to address in s t a n c e , gender sensitive moni t o ri n g asymmetric gender relations); and fra m ew o rk s , with gender disaggreg a t e d ➧ a flexible and responsive approach indicators are essential to accurately in recognition of the fact that the evaluate the linkages between micro needs of the poor are dynamic and and macro level poverty alleviation context dependent (e.g. to address initiatives.UNDP has a comparative the current imperat i v e to incorpo ra t e advantage in this area and should a t t e n t i on to HIV/AIDS as a strengthen its poverty monitoring x priority of poverty alleviation). capacity at all levels of interventions. 1. Introduction ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

PURPOSE AND SCOPE role of micro level interventions to a OF THE ASSESSMENT purely economic one because of multiple d i m e n s i ons to the linkages between This rep o r t assesses the linkages betwe e n the micro and the macro, both short- pa rt i c i p a t o r y pover ty allev i a t i o n sche m e s and long-term.1 For instance, initiatives and macro- l e vel pover ty allev i a t i o n policy enabling or supporting social mobilizat i o n in i t i a t i v es in five countries in South Asia, and commu n i t y parti c i p a t i o n have potential na m e l y, Ba n g l a d e s h ,I n d i a , Nep a l , Pak i s t a n long-term implications beyond short- and Sri Lanka. A regional assessment term economic performance. They may based on individual country assessments is deepen democra cy and through that undertaken to draw out general lessons bring about a more enlightened macro from a comparison of these countries policy regime that is held accountable to that have diverse poverty profiles and s t a k e h o l d e r s ’ needs and pri o ri t i e s . policy regimes by consolidating various However, while it is important to flag pe r s p e c t i v es based on UNDP’s experie n c e these non- e c on o mic dimensions ,a s s e s s i n g and knowledge and those of partner such long-term effects is beyond the organizations. Its principal focus is on scope of this report, and therefore not the linkages between the micro and the addressed here. It should also be made macro poverty alleviation initiatives that clear at the outset that this is not an con t r ibute to their effec t i ve n e s s . Part i c u l a r evaluation of macro policies and micro attention is given to the linkages flowing in i t i a t i v es per se. Rat h e r , it is an assessment from the former to the latter, especially of the links between “poor led” in i t i a t i ve s in terms of the relationship between the and macro policy regimes, particularly ke y stakeholders so as to identify specific looking at how macro policy regimes structural issues, policy areas and their w e re sensitized and influenced by i m p l i ca t i on s . The re p o rt is there f o re micro initiatives.2 specifically aimed at: (i) Assessing the influence of “poor led p ove rty re d u c t i on appro a ch e s ” in BAC KG RO U N D promoting social mobilization at the local level, and in the sensitisation of Since 1994, UNDP has been working ma c r o policy processes and decisions ; on participatory pilot programmes at (ii) Cl a ri f y ing the effec t i v eness of nationa l the community level in six South Asian interventions in addressing different countries under the South Asian Poverty forms of poverty and the structural All ev i a t i o n Prog r amme (SAPAP ) . Oth e r issues that frame entren c hed pover ty; international agencies such as UNCDF, (iii) Id e n t i f y ing the underlying factors of Au s t ralian Aid, Wo rld Bank, SI DA , success or non-success in donor efforts ; DFID, among others, had also funded (iv) Uncovering lessons learned; and similar prog ra m m e s . In addition ,t h e re was (v) Fo rmulating re c om m e n d a t i ons to a plethora of comparable local initiatives im p r ove the role and support of UNDP. with different types of communities in The lessons from this exercise are the re g i on , w h e re national pove rty expected to provide valuable input for re d u c t i on strategies were aimed at f u t u re policy re c om m e n d a t i ons and reducing the re l a t i ve ly high external programme design practices of UNDP ______in wide-ranging contexts. 1. The terms ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ are defined in the following chapter. In assessing the micro- m a c r o linkages, 2. The terms of reference and overall methodology 2 there are difficulties in relegating the for this report are provided in Annex I. 1 .I N T RO D U C T I O N

input approach to poverty alleviation on “Assessing Linkages between Macro and, equally importantly, empowering and Micro Level Initiatives in South the rural poor to contribute to their Asia” in New Delhi, India, where it was development using their own resources recognized that a regional perspective on and to articulate demands on govern m e n t the micro-macro linkage would be valu- services more effectively. able for future country programming These programmes were based on and regional initiatives. Consequently, social mobilization for sustainable self- this regional assessment was initiated. development. However it was not anticipated that micro pove rty all ev i a t i on pro g r ammes would, in and of themselves , S T RUCTURE OF THE REPORT significantly reduce the high incidence of pover ty in the sub-re g i on .I n s t e a d , one The introduction of the report situates of the principal goals of these initiatives the goal of evaluating the micro-macro was the incorporation of informational linkages in poverty alleviation, and the channels aimed at impacting the effec- scope of the study, through the terms of tiveness of macro policy mechanisms. It reference and the methodologies used to was hoped that concrete experience at prepare this report and the five country the gra s s - roots level would help the reports on which it is based. In the next “m a c ro” identify the factors re l evant se c t i on , the conceptual fram ew o r k of micro- to improving targeting and delivery. In macro linkages is presented. Definitions p a rt i c u l a r, it was hoped that lesson s of key terminology are followed by the learned would be transmitted regarding presentation of a conceptual and policy the comp o nents necessary for successfully fra m ew o r k to situate micro- m a c r o linkages negotiating the constraints arising from and the factors affecting those linkages. the macro policy regime and its interac t i o n The next section presents a brief overv i e w with existing initial conditions. As such, of the assessments of the country these initiatives represented the most reports, including a short summary of recent phase in rethinking traditional the poverty profiles of the five countries. ap p ro a c hes to macro- e c on o mic planning, That is followed by a summary of micro resulting from the widespread rec o g n i t i o n initiatives and macro initiatives in the that the top-heavy and supply-side focus fi v e countrie s . The fourth section pres e n t s of cl a s s i cal macro pove rty all ev i a t i on the analysis of micro - m a c ro linkages measures inhibited progress in the fight based on the findings of the country against poverty in the region. rep o rt s , as well as an analysis of the overa l l In 2002,the Evaluation Office (EO) ef fe c t i v eness of the micro- l e vel initiatives of UNDP underto o k an analysis of crit i ca l on poverty. It also discusses the findings issues relating to pove rty all ev i a t i on regarding micro-macro linkages. Section based on empiric al evidence documented Five presents lessons learned in looking in UNDP’s Results-Oriented An n u a l at the disconnect between the micro and Reports (ROARs) and various Poverty the macro pover ty allev i a t i o n initiative s ,a s R e d u c t i on St ra t e gy papers (PRS Ps ) . well as the role of UNDP in establishing The analysis was perf o rmed in an these linkages. This is foll owed by attempt to assess con c rete measure s recommendations.The Annexes provide effective in linking macro and micro in f o rm a t i o n on the tables and figures cited, operations from UNDP’s development the terms of reference, the documents efforts particularly in South Asia. EO consulted and a list of those interviewed organized a “lessons learning” meeting in the course of preparing this report. 3 2. Conceptual Framework of Micro-Macro Linkage 2 . CO N C E P T UAL FRA M EWORK OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAG E

DEFINITIONS “It is important not to lose sight of the basic fact that the reduction of income poverty alone cannot possibly be the Ma c ro, Meso and Mi c ro ultimate motivation of anti-poverty policy.”— Amartya Sen The terms, macro, meso and micro offer multiple meanings in different contexts and cannot be reduced to geographic or spatial categories. They are, of course, P OV E RTY rel a t i v e terms that speak to administrat i v e le vel s ,h i e ra r chies of political and econom i c An t i - p ove rty initiatives re c o g n i ze the power, spheres of social solidarity and multi-dimensionality of poverty. Poverty po l i t i c al affiliation,e t c . The study refe re n c e d is taken to be the depriv a t i o n of materia l at least three dimensions : spatial (nationa l / resources (income), health, knowledge reg i on a l / l o ca l ) , social (commu n i ty / g ro u p / and participation in social and political id e n t i ty / n a t i on ) , and political (mainstrea m / life. This recognition has been reflected m a r g i n a l ) .M o re over , these cat e go r ies are in many of the current activities within context dependent. For instance, at the the UN sys t e m , f rom the on go i n g global level , a nation state could be reg a rd e d Mi l lennium Devel o p ment Goals (MDGs ) as a micro entity while in a country study to Poverty Reduction Strategy. it would be considered the macro. The five country studies looked at the For the purpose of this rep o rt , we shall income aspect as well as non-economic treat macro entities as a constellation of aspects of poverty. These studies used institutions with centralized authority to stakeholder participation in anti-poverty originate and implement policies and initiatives to address the dimension of mechanisms regarding the allocation of exclusion from social and economic life. res o u r ces and policies related to struc t u ra l They employed the Head Count Index issues including those intended to stimul a t e as the indicator of the extent of income free market mechanisms, for example poverty. While this index fails to provide th r ough priv a t i s a t i o n and trade measures . information regarding the intensity of The macro is distinguishable from micro po ver ty, it provides a convenient measure entities by the extent to which its scope for com p a ring the extent of pove rty and domain of authority span the whole a c ross projects and individuals. Su ch (or significant parts of) the country. comparisons may be cumbersome with On the other hand, micro entities mu l t i - d i m e n s i onal pove rty measure s ar e groups and institutions whose cont ro l such as those of the HDI, or almost does not extend beyond a limited local i t y impossible, as with participatory poverty or specific proj e c t ; th u s , this term usually assessment (Brock and McGee, 2002; refers to grass- roots or community- Choices for the Poor, 2001). l evel organiza t i ons (such as Vi ll a g e The Head Count Index is the frac t i o n Or g a n i za t i on s ) , and groups (such as Sel f - of the population living below a pred e t e r - Help Groups, SHG). In geographical mined level of cons u m p t i o n (or income ) . 3 terms, they operate at the village (or Conventionally, this level is chosen as town) level. either 1 (or 2) PPP US dollar cons u m p t i o n The meso-level is in between the per day and the Head Count Index m a c ro and the micro, g e o g ra ph i ca lly reflects the extent of absolute poverty.4 and politically. It points to institutions ______and groups that operate at the district 3. Consumption (or the lack of it) is more readily m e a s u re d, as poor households re d u ce their (or in a federal set-up, state) level. In a consumption when faced with fluct u ations in country where the local elite dominates income due to shocks or seasonal factors. 4. For limitations of using PPP$ to make temporal di s t ri c t - l e vel decision- m a k i n g , the villa g e and geographical comparisons, see Reddy and elite will also belong to the meso-level. Pogue, 2002. 5 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

Fo ll owing this appro a ch , this re p o rt informed the approach of UNDP and also treats poverty as human poverty, other donor agencies since the early 90s. recognizing it as deprivation of income, While all gover nments in the countrie s health, knowledge and social as well as studied focused on the macro envi r onm e n t , political participation. the reg i o n also has a trad i t i o n of parti c i p a - to r y community-level initiatives. These were strengthened and prioritized in the M I C RO - M AC RO LINKAG E S : work of UNDP through programmes CO N C E P T UA L I ZAT I O N such as SAPAP. However, increasingly these efforts run the risk of seeking to The linkages between micro- and a ll eviate pove rty through loca l - l evel macro-level anti-poverty efforts refer to initiatives without paying much heed to the manner in which they influence each the macro environment. There is ample other. There are many dimensions to evidence now that micro-level initiatives these linkages, fr om informa t i o n cha n n e l s by themselves were inadequate to between the two, to material constraints address the issue of poverty. However, on the functioning of each other. Good they could play an important role in the linkages are two - w a y processes that ensure broader effort at anti-poverty alleviation the bi-directional flow of information to through their links with the macro. For improve the targeting and delivery of instance, micro initiatives were useful as macro initiatives, while also providing pilot programmes that provide a “vision the enabling env i ronment for micro and a map” for macro-level measures initiatives to operate to its full potential. against poverty. The dominant approach of macro It is in this context that UNDP economists dealing with poverty issues is sought to identify the micro- m a c r o linkages informed by the notion that only macro that influence the effec t i v eness of pover ty policy instruments can attack national alleviation measures. The key aspect of income poverty. In this view, at most, such micro-macro links is the extent to micro initiatives may have some limited which they channel the experiences from operational relevance in improving the mi c r o prog r ammes to inform the fram i n g im p l e m e n t a t i o n aspects of policy. How e ver , of macro policy initiatives — from formu- due to substantial differences in scale la t i o n to implementation — in order to and arenas impacted (micro, household im p r ove their effec t i v e deliver y. Ef fe c t i v e accounts and macro, national accounts), delivery, in turn, is determined by macro the influence of micro initiative is very policies’ effect on micro entities. circumscribed. This view discounts the For the purpose of this assessment, need for the micro to have a macro linkage. an analyti c al perspective could be fram e d However, this perspective does not in the follo wing manner to rea d i l y identify account for the cost of ignoring micro important lessons (Maguire, 2002): interventions as a contributing factor in the persistent failures or shortcomings of i) D e s i gn Linkages: In designing top-heavy pove rty all ev i a t i on effort s and implementing micro - l evel with an exclusively supply-side focus. p ro g rammes it is necessary for Mo re o ver , setting the agenda and prio ri t i e s UNDP to “substantively rationalize of poverty alleviation cannot be reduced them to, and root them in” macro to policy makers’ economic choices; the po l i c y concepts and goals so that micro mandate of stakeholders is a necessary projects are likely to attain sufficient condition to ensure effective targeting visibility to provide a map and vision 6 and delive ry. This re c o g n i t i on has for macro poverty initiatives. 2 . CO N C E P T UAL FRA M EWORK OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAG E

ii) Fun c t ional Linkages: In operat i on a l - approach that regarded the poor as a izing prog ra m m e s , UNDP should seek m onolithic entity that is vulnera b l e, to establish the “ne c e s s a r y linkages and without agency and incapable of sy nergies between the implementation articulating its interests. Thus poverty of micro and macro initiatives ” so that alleviation efforts took a paternalistic programmes function in ways that attitude towards the poor and there was facilitate these synergies on an ongo i n g a failure to recognize the obvious need basis and all ow for institutional to consult stakeholders. In recent years flexibility and responsiveness. s i g n i f i cant changes have occurred in m a i n s t ream thinking on anti-pove rty iii) Results Linkages: The results from m e a s u res and all five countries now the implemented prog r ammes should agree, in principle at least, on the merits be c o me necessary and rel e vant inputs of participatory processes. However, the for future macro poverty initiatives, m i c ro - m a c ro ch a llenges continue to i.e. to keep open the channels of exist and perceptions of the capacity of t ra n s m i s s i on of inform a t i on from the poor seem to endure. micro to macro through advocacy The poor on the other hand,pe rc e i ve d and similar efforts. the State as a static and monolithic entity that is perpetually deaf to their interests, D E T E R M I N A N TS OF as evidenced by their entren c hed pover ty. M I C RO - M AC RO LINKAG E S They tended to believe actions to seek representation and remedy would not effect any changes. Lessons from the five countries show Thus the attitudes and perce p t i o ns of re c u r ring problems of targeting and the micro and the macro may themselves delivery with macro initiatives against inhibit channels of communication. p ove rty. Si m i l a rly, c om mu n i ty - l evel programmes, even when successful, had I n fo rm ation asymmetry frequently failed to influence thinking at and deficit the macro level . These rec u r r ing prob l e m s The macro lacks information on the cannot be explained as simply arising priorities and needs of the poor; thus it fr om a lack of available res o u rc e s .T h e y also la c ks knowledge of targets and approp ri a t e point to persistent cons t r aints operating at delivery mechanisms. The poor, on the di f fe r ent reg i s t e r s . Based on informa t i o n other hand, la c k knowledge of the res o u rc e s from country reports, we could discern that are accessible, the opportunities that four dimensions in which the factors a re available and the synergies that contributing to the disconnect between are possible when social mobilization is micro and macro operate, namely: coupled with the establishment of 1. Perceptions and attitudes regarding horizontal and vertical links. each other 2. In f o rm a t i o n asymm e t r y and/or deficit Institutional mismatch 3. In s t i t u t i o nal mismatch between target be tween target and (and needs) and deliver y mecha n i s m s d e l i ve ry mechanisms 4. Unequal power relations Linkages between the macro and the m i c ro were con s t rained also by the Pe rceptions and attitudes absence of appro p riate political and re g a rding each other e c on omic institution s . For instance, Early efforts by the State in all five inadequate political and administrative countries had been characterized by an decentralization would act as a barrier to 7 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

the channels of transmission between sc ale pover ty req u i r es more than a tax and the macro and the micro. Operationally, tra n s f er approa ch . The deep red i s t ri b u t i v e of ten complex and conflicting horiz ont a l efforts required to address large-scale structures that were produced by admin- poverty would face resistance from the istrative decentralization could lead to status quo. Moreover, the exclusion of inhibiting vertical access by the stake- the poor from economic and political ho l d e r s . Persistent exclu s i o n from political structures leaves them with little voice or power has left the poor with limited choice in the decision-making processes. in s t i t u t i o nal arrangements to convey their Even when the centre is willing to listen, aspirations to the centre. For instance, local hierarchies vested in maintaining no institution has been able to reach the the status quo often block voices of the ultra poor in ways that meaningfully poor being transmitted “upstream”. As a elicit their participation as input into the re s u l t , t h e re is ve ry limited politica l micro-macro information channels; thus space and commitment for opening up th e y remain excluded from macro decision- channels of communication between the making processes. macro and the micro. These dimensions seldom exist as Unequal power re l at i o n s entirely separate categories. They were This is perhaps the most important of all often present together in instances of dimensions and even may be at the root inhibited macro - m i c ro linkages and of the other three factors descri b e d should be recognized as fundamentally above. It concerns the lack of political i n t e rl i n k e d . Neve rt h e l e s s , it is also will on the part of the actors at the important to identify these as related but macro level to establish links with stake- distinct dimensions of micro - m a c ro holders. A meaningful attack on large- links in the South Asian region.

8 3. The Macroeconomic and Policy Environment ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

This chapter gives a brief descrip t i o n of the High population growth , insufficient GDP macroeconomic and policy environment gr owt h ,l ow human res o u r ce devel o pm e n t , in the region, highlighting some of the and improper social assistance have also ke y cha l lenges that are rel e vant to micro- constrained efforts to reduce poverty in macro linkages and their implications the reg i on . Not withstanding the negative for policies on poverty alleviation. macro-economic tends, according to the Asian Development Bank the region sustained its economic growth in 2003, M AC RO - E CONOMIC T R E N D S with aggregate GDP of the five countrie s remaining at 4.98 perc e n t , despite a The South Asia region has the largest slowdown in the Indian economy. GDP concentration of poverty in the world. g rowth in India slowed marginally It generates less than two percent of because of lower growth in agriculture world income, yet supports twenty-two sector output and slower growth in the percent of world population and nearly in d u s t r y sector. Ex p o r ts in India rec o rd e d half of the world’s poor (i.e. those who a double-digit rate of growth in 2000, earn less than a dollar a day). It has the spurred by the recovery in global trade lowest per capita income (US$440) of and depreciation of the rupee. India’s all developing regions. It also has the Tenth Five - Year Plan (2002-7) empha s i ze s highest rate of youth illiteracy (23% for the importance of human development males and 40% for females) and the lowe s t wh e r e devel o p ment objectives are defined rate of access to sanitation facilities mo r e broa d ly in terms of enhancement of (36%).5 The regional economy, which human well- b e i n g , as opposed to increa s e s grew by just over five percent annually in in GDP. Bangladesh also perf o rmed the last decade, depends more heavily on well between 2002 and 2003, recovering agriculture than in any other part of the from the devastating floods of 1999. world. Almost sixty percent of the South The Gover nment has prep a r ed a Nat i on a l Asian labour force is invo l ved in agric u l t u r e St ra t e gy for Econ omic Growth and that accounts for around tw e n ty - f i ve Poverty Reduction to lay the basis for percent of South Asia’s GDP. Therefore future development planning. However, policies that affect agri c u l t u re have t h e re has been limited pro g ress on relatively significant ramifications for a governance and structural reforms in the large mass of people, especially the poor. state owned enterpr ises and banking sectors. Overa ll ,e c on o mic growth and devel o pm e n t In Pa k i s t a n , the gove rn m e n t’s fiscal in the region are less dependent on trade st a b i l i za t i o n efforts have focused on major and capital flows than, for instance, in tax reforms and cutting expenditures, East Asia or Southeast Asia. including the reduction of corporate tax Al l of the South Asian countries that rate to achi e ve macro- e c on o mic stability. were assessed have large fiscal deficits The other South Asian economies also despite efforts to stabilize their annual showed strong signs of recovery in 2003, b u d g e t a ry short f a lls and re s t ru c t u re m a i n ly because of higher growth in their ove ra ll revenue coll e c t i on and agriculture sector output.The growth of expenditure management programmes. ex p o r ts in the other South Asian countrie s Persistent fiscal imbalances have led to also improved. the high cost of capital, crowding out Both quantitative and qualitative financial resources for the private sector, con s i d e ra t i o ns indicate that the well- b e i n g and discouraging private sector inves t m e n t . of the vast majority of the poor (defined ______multidimensionally) in the region did 1 0 5. World Development Indicators, 2003. not improve at an acceptable pace over 3 . THE MAC RO E CONOMIC AND POLICY ENVIRO N M E N T

FIGURE 1: SELECTED ASIAN ECONOMIES FIGURE 2: F I S CAL DEFICIT, GDP GROWTH RATE (PERC E N T) SELECTED SOUTH ASIAN CO U N T R I E S ( P E RCENT OF GDP) 8 8 ------Bangladesh ------Pakistan 6 India ------7

4 6 Pakistan ------2 India ------5 ------Nepal ------Bangladesh 0 4 ------Sri Lanka 19 9 6 19 9 7 19 9 8 19 9 9 20 0 0 20 0 1 20 0 2

-2 19 9 9 20 0 0 20 0 1 20 0 2 20 0 3 Sources:AADO database;Bangladesh Resident Mission, Quarterly Economic Update; Reserve Bank of India,2002, RBI Bulletin, August; Source: Asian Development Bank.OUTLOOK 2002 UPDATE. Pakistan Economic Survey 2001-02. the last decade, and the overall income- of the role of governments in the context poverty reduction rate has also been of economic reforms that are almost modest, in spite of a large number of universal in the region. Not only are poverty alleviation programmes carried gove rnments being divested of their out by governments, NGOs and other reg u l a t o r y and utility ownership functions , development agencies. but are also being forced to engage in Corruption is endemic at all levels policy making in a more transparent and of the state and society in South Asia: pa rt i c i p a t o r y manner. In India, the largest ‘At the individual level , high levels of country of the region, the challenges of corruption impose disproportionate costs on co a l i t i o n politics have resulted in strong e r the majority of South Asians, as they are provincial and local governments that forced to pay bribes in order to gain access to are transforming the balance of power basic social services…The largest country, and, hence, the pace of development at In d i a , has the stron g est democratic institut i o n s the regional level. Sustained vigorous in the regi o n , but it is as plagued as Banglade s h , reforms are now considered critical to Nepal and Pakistan by systematic public ad d r ess macro- e c on o mic and social sector and private sector corruption. Sri Lanka, impediments to improve the welfare of which has the highest Human Development people in the region. In d e x ran k i n g , also suffers from this menace .’ 6 The Wor ld Bank (WB ) , for instance, has re- e valuated its past country assistance strategy in the region, characterized by POLICY FOCUS ON st ru c t u r al adjustment prog r ammes (SAP). G OVERNANCE AND Gi v en the pace and effects of globalizat i o n T RA N S F O R M ATION in the region, there is now much greater P RO C E S S E S em p hasis on the need to integrate pover ty red u c t i o n efforts with political own e r s h i p Given the high levels of poverty, South and participation. The policy debate has Asia is experiencing a major redefinition s h i fted to how globaliza t i on can be ______made more receptive to the needs of 6. South As i a , Regional Re po rt, Tra n s p a re n cy the poor and deprived groups in society International,2002, p.39. so that it does not lead to a process 1 1 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

B OX 1: THE CO S TS OF CO R RUPTION IN BA N G LA D E S H greater emphasis on the need to aim macro-policies not only to influence the It is estimated that Bangladesh rece i v ed 50 per cen t less fore i g n formal sectors of economy, but also the d i re ct inve s t m e nt during 1999 be cause of co rru p t i o n . informal sectors, where the vast majori- Corruption at the country’s port, according to the American Chamber of Commerce, costs the economy US$1.1 billion ty of the poor and marginalized remain every year. entrenched. Poverty alleviation policies need to prioritize pro-poor institutional Source:South Asia,Regional Report, Transparency International,2002. reforms in each area of development intervention as well as develop organizations of the poor at the sectoral, sub- B OX 2: K EY POLICY ISSUES IN SOUTH ASIA national,and national levels.This is nec- ■ En s u ring financial acco u nt a b i l i ty and tra n s p a re n cy in essary not just for mobilizing the poor public and private sectors themselves in the formulation of pover- ■ Exploring different mixes of property rights under private ty alleviation policies and their imple- ownership to better suit the specific contexts of the low mentation, but also for increasing their and middle-income countries aggregate claims on the distribution of ■ Determining level of government subsidy of agricultural overall benefits of economic growth and inputs and control of agricultural input markets ■ Determining the extent of privatization and opening up to social progress. international markets UNDP has placed greater emphasis ■ Su p po rting small and medium businesses, g i ven the on policy advisory services that are government bias toward large-scale players fundamental to meet not only national ■ Up- s c aling successful micro- l e vel initiati v es with the poor as poverty reduction goals, but also to link sustainable inter ven tions within mainstream macro econ o m y these to moni t o r ing prog r ess and assessing ■ Bringing political stability while economy is undergoing impact of the Millennium Development major structural reforms, and ensuring necessary support Goals (MDGs ) ,w h i c h cal l for broa d - b a s e d to social groups hurt by reforms consultations between civil society and Source:South Asia,Regional Report, Transparency International,2002. de vel o p ment agencies in the formul a t i o n of pro-poor policies and implementation which further marginalizes the poor and of programmes. accentuates inequalities. R e t h i n k i n g poverty reduction strategies within the cu r r ent policy envi r onment is underscored CO U N T RY ASSESSMENTS by the concept of democratization of the ma r ket-based econom y ,wh e r e key conc e rn s The follo wing section presents the country relate to a) achi e ving a distrib u t i o nal balance profiles on poverty and a summary of in the allo ca t i o n of market and non- m a rk e t ob s e rv a t i o ns on macro and micro pover ty res o u r ces to be more favourable to the poor; all ev i a t i o n initiatives in the five countrie s . and b) establishing financial accountability These observations were drawn from the and transparency in all kinds of public country assessment reports and other dealings by government organizations, related literature that provide the basis non - g over nmental organizat i on s , pri v a t e for the analysis on the linkages between or g a n i za t i on s , com mu n i t y-based organi- mi c r o and macro pover ty allev i a t i o n efforts . zat i on s ,p ro fe s s i o nal bodies and all elected bo d i e s . This last issue, related to govern a n c e , Co u nt ry Pro f i l e s is actually posed as the central issue by The poverty profiles of the five countries the WB. a re summari zed in Tables 1 to 3. In view of the past experience of G e n e ra lly, p ove rty all ev i a t i on effort s government and market failures in the have focused mainly on discrete projects 1 2 area of poverty polices, there is now that could demons t r ate immediate outpu t s . 3 . THE MAC RO E CONOMIC AND POLICY ENVIRO N M E N T

This has discouraged engagement with B OX 3: BA N G LADESH – MARGINALIZED GRO U P S l on g e r - t e rm policy and institution a l reforms that are needed in each of the In spite of the slow decrease in the rate of pover ty,Ban g l a d e s h five countries in order to reduce poverty has achieved impressive progress in some of the indices of social development at macro level as compared to other muc h faster. The key donor organizat i on s low-income countries of the world.Especially noteworthy is in the region have shown a preference its relatively higher level of social development indicators at tow a r ds non- g over nmental organizat i on s a rel at i v ely low level of incom e . However , these improvem e nt s that are perceived as delivering project a re only in te rms of ave rages of the whole po p u l ation o u tp u t s , and working more cl o s e ly co m p rising both rich and poor members of the whole with poor people, more effectively than society and may therefore hide the stark inequalities behind government. Few donors have engaged them.In fact, the incidence of extreme poverty, poverty and systematically with the private sector. social development level varies very much in accordance with the gender,regional and socio-economic characteristics In Bangladesh, a quarter of the total of the households under con s i d e r ati o n . In general the wom e n population of 137.4 million lives in the headed households, households headed by relatively young ur ban area s . This country’s HDI ran k i n g or less educated persons, households with a lower tenure of 145 is the lowest among the five countrie s status, households living in poorly developed areas and the s t u d i e d .( See Table 1.) The official extent effectively landless households are more likely to be poor or of pove rty is 29.1% (percentage of extremely poor in Bangladesh. population with less than 1$/day (1993 Source: Akash,2002. US PPP $). The national poverty Head Count Ratio declined from 58.8% in 1991/92 to 49.8% in 2000 while the had one of the 10 fastest grow i n g Gini Index of inequality increased from economies in the world but the growth 0.259 to 0.307 in 2000 (Akash, 2002).7 had slowed down con s i d e ra b ly, to The unemployment level as a percentage 4.5%, in 2001 (2.7% when adjusted for of the total labour force was at 2.5% in population growth). 1995 (WDI 2002). The annual growth Nep a l has a population of 23 milli o n rate in terms of GDP per capita is 3.3% of which over 88% lives in rural areas. It while the annual growth unadjusted for is ranked 142nd in the world in terms of population growth is 5.2%. Human Development. The average per India, with a population of over capita income is US PPP $1,327, the 1,008 milli on , has more people than all of lowest in all five countries. The literacy the other countries studied comb i n e d . It has rate is 41%. Access to basic services has an HDI ranking of 124 and is reg a r ded as improved but still remains low – 19% of a medium Human Devel o p ment country the population is without access to with average income at US PPP $2,358. improved water sources and 73% has no The official poverty rate is the highest access to adequate sanitation facilities. a m ong the five countri e s , at 44.2% The current Head Count Index for rate (p e r centage of population below 1$/day – of pover ty is 38% (population with income 1993 US PPP $) though pover ty has been less than $1 per day – 1993 PPP US$) halved since the late 70s. The literacy and the Gini Index of inequality in 1996 rate increased from 4% in 1981 to 62% was 0.367 (HDR 2002). The official in 1999. However, gains had stagnated rate of unemployment in 1999 was 1.1% and more than 50% of rural children, of the total labour force (WDI 2002). particularly girls, were suffering from Pakistan has a population of 141 malnutrition. During the mid 90s India million, an intermediate level among the ______five countries studied. Compared to the 7. Gini Index is a measure of inequality computed other four, it has the highest percentage of from the ‘Laorenz Curve’of income distribution. ur ban population, 33.1 %. Its HDI ran k i n g 1 3 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

B OX 4: PA K I S TAN – UNEMPLOYMENT AND POV E RTY nearly 15% of the population (including 900,000 children), most of whom live in The policy of pursuing stabilization at the cost of growth has extreme poverty. Secondly, the statistics been socially damaging.The country’s unemployment rate, do not show regional variations. Finally, which increased from an average of 3.5 per cent during 1981- 1990 to 5.7 per cent during 1991-2000, went up 7.4 per cent they reflect gains made some time ago. in 2001-02. Consequently, the percentage of the population Absolute pover ty actually increased durin g below the poverty line, which had fallen from 31 per cent in the period 1990-95, as did inequality, 1979 to 17 per cent in 1988,rose again to 33 per cent in 1999. with the share of income of the highest It has further increased to 38 per cent in 2001.It appears that decile rising from 36.5% to 39.8%. The during the two years since 1999,about 350,000 people have Gini inequality index in 1995 was 0.344. been rendered unemployed and about 7 million people have The youth unemployment level is high, fallen below the poverty line. at 20%.The aver age growth rate during the Source: Ahmed, 2002. 90s was 5% while the agricultural sector was lagging behind at 2% (Case Study, of 138 (HDR 2002) is comp a r able to those RBA P , UNDP 2002). Mo re o ver , the civil of Bangladesh and Nepal (see Table 1). war consumes nearly a third of govern m e n t The official extent of poverty is 31% revenues or one fifth of government (population with income of less than expenditure and has resulted in lower $1/day – 1993 PPP US$) (HDR 2002). investment in health and education. Over the last three yea r s , 7 milli o n people The pove rty profiles of the five had been pushed below the national co u n t r ies demons t r ate notable similarit i e s poverty line (Ahmed 2002). The Gini and differences, as can be seen from Index in 1995 was 0.312 (HDR 2002). Tables 1 through 3. For instance, while Between 1988 and 1998, the share of all five may be classified as low-income income of the top 20 per cent of the countries, they are at different levels of population increased from 44% to 50% human devel o pm e n t : Ne p a l , Pa k i s t a n while the share of the bottom 20 per and Bangladesh are close in their HDI cent declined from 9% to 7% (Ahmed rankings but Sri Lanka is significantly 2002). The growth rate over the last higher. Both Sri Lanka and India are decade has been the lowest among the reg a r ded as medium Human Devel o pm e n t five countries, at 1.2% (HDR 2002). countries while the others are classified The official rate of unemployment as a as low Human Development countries. percentage of the total labour force is Lo oking at the com p onents of the 5.9% (WDI 2002). Human Development Index, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is the smallest country has a much lower official Head Count studied. It has a population of 19 million Index of poverty, at 6.6%, while India and ranks highest on the Human has the highest, at 44%. Literacy rates in Development Index of all five countries, B a n g l a d e s h , Nepal and Pakistan are 89th in the world (Human Devel o pm e n t close to 41%, while in Sri Lanka literacy Report 2002). As a result of its history of is 92%. The average income levels vary investing in human capital it has the by a factor of almost three – with the highest litera cy rates (92%) and life lowest in Nepal at PPP US $1,327 and expectancy at birth (72.1 years), and the the highest in Sri Lanka at PPP US lowest poverty incidence (Head Count $3,530, in the year 2000 (HDR 2002). Index of 6.6%) among the countries Geographically, the countries have st u d i e d . These indicat o r s , while accurat e , not attained demographic transition. At do not tell the whole story. In the first least two thirds of the population of the place, they describe the situation in non- region lives in rural areas. Nepal leads, 1 4 conflict areas. Areas of conflict involve with a rural population of 88%. In all 3 . THE MAC RO E CONOMIC AND POLICY ENVIRO N M E N T

TABLE 1: CO U N T RY PRO F I L E

Country Population Urban Life Adult GDP HDI UNDP Net ODA** (million) Population Expectancy Literacy (PPP US$) Rank Core Funds (Million US$) 2000 as % total at Birth Rate (% 2000 Committed* 1998-2000 (2000) (Years) age 15 and (Million US$) 2000 above) 2000 Ban g l a d e s h 137.4 25.0 59.4 41.3 1,602 145 112.2 3,650 (1995-2000) India 1008.9 27.7 63.3 57.2 2,358 124 116.8 4,588 (1997-2001) Nepal 23.0 11.8 58.6 41.8 1,327 142 42.8 1,149 (1997-2001) Pakistan 141.3 33.1 60.0 43.2 1,928 138 37.0 2,489 (1998-2003) Sri Lanka 18.9 22.8 72.1 91.6 3,530 89 28.9 1,047 (1997-2001) * Country Cooperation Framework Documents of UNDP; ** Compiled by Author from OECD,World Bank Statistics Source: Human Development Report, 2002. five countries except for Pakistan, the TABLE 2: P ROFILES OF POV E RTY AND INEQUA L I TY official poverty levels have declined over Country % of % of % of Inequality the last decade. But inequality has either Population Population Population Index, increased or stabilized at higher levels Below Below Below Gini $1/day $2/day National compared to the previous decades. All of (1993 PPP (1993 PPP Poverty these countries range between 0.31 and US$)* US$)* Line* 0.38 on the Gini Index of inequality. Ban g l a d e s h 29.1 77.8 35.6 0.336 (See Figure 1.) While this is higher than India 44.2 86.2 35.0 0.378 in the No rt h e rn European countri e s (0.21 to 0.26) it is much lower than in Nepal 37.7 82.5 42.0 0.367 the Latin Ame ri c an countries (0.5 to 0.6). Pakistan 31.0 84.6 34.0 0.312 Growth rates, as measured by annual Sri Lanka 6.6 45.4 25.0 0.344 increase in GDP per capita ranged from 0.9% to 3.4% in 2001 (WDI 2002) with * Most recent official estimates available Source: Human Development Report, 2002. Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the lowest end and Bangladesh and Nepal at the highest. TABLE 3: G ROWTH RAT E Mi c ro - l evel Initiat i ve s Country Growth Rate (1990-2000) Th e r e are a range of micro- l e vel initiatives (Growth of GDP per capita) studied in the country reports, almost all Ban g l a d e s h 3.0 of them covering the period between 1994 and 2000. As indicated in Table 5, India 4.1 initiatives by donors other than UNDP Nepal 2.4 were also included in the analysis. Pakistan 1.2 One of the examples of micro- p ro j e c t s studied was the South Asia Pove rty Sri Lanka 3.9 All ev i a t i o n Prog r amme (SAPAP ) ,i n i t i a t e d Source: Human Development Report,2002. in 1993 following a SAARC summit in Dha k a . UNDP committed $9.5 milli o n to in parts of six countries, including the the SAPAP and initiated the prog ra m m e five countries studied here, as follows: 1 5 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

FIGURE 3: CHANGES IN INEQUA L I TY, GINI INDEX The following section provides a brief summary of the programme activities 0.40 considered in each country report. Nepal ------Bangladesh ------India The Kishorgonj Sadar Thana (KS T) 0.35 initiative covered all 202 villages in the KST area by the year 2000, cr eating 1,031 vi l lage organizat i o ns (VOs) and invo lv i n g ------Pakistan Sri Lanka ------38,662 households or 67% of all those in 0.30 the area. It was an Upazilla-level project ------Bangladesh confined to a single Upazilla. The VOs targeted all segments of the village population, not just the poor, and had 0.25 women’s participation of 46.7%. The 1985 1990 1995 2000 p roject stimulated household savings, Source:UNDP, 2002. having mobilized Tk.61.6 million (i.e. around US$1.1million) and disbursed Tk.100 million (around US$1.7 million) B OX 5 by 2000. Am ong the other services National ownership entails an integration of projects into a ren d e re d , the project trained and provi d e d given national priority agenda;the participation of all stake- advice to villagers on specialized areas holders in the design and implementation of programmes; such as livestock and poultry. and commitment to target groups and beneficiaries. The other micro- l e vel project cons i d e re d Source:UNDP,November 2001 in the country rep o r t is the Sir ajganj Loca l Go ver nance Devel o p ment Fu n d ,i n i t i a t e d ■ Ba n g l a d e s h : An Upazilla in Kishoreg onj by UNCDF. This was implemented in a District (KST) single District of Sirajganj. It began with ■ India: 20 Mandals in three Districts 18 Unions and was expected to cover all of Andhra Pradesh State 81 Unions in the District by the time it ■ Nepal: Seven Village Development ends in 2004. The project aims to build Committees in Syangja District ca p a c i ty for planning, financing and ■ Pak i s t a n : Two Unions in Lac hi Teh s i l , managing basic development activities; in Northwest Frontier Province to deliver sustainable small-scale infra- ■ Sri Lan k a : Th r ee Divisions in Nuw a ra - s t ru c t u re ; and to draw lessons on Eliya District improved local governance practices. The country re p o rts from India, Three meso-level programmes were Nepal and Sri Lanka focused only on th e studied in the country report, namely, SA P AP prog r ammes as their examples of the Rural Community Empowerment m i c ro - l evel pro g ra m m e s . B a n g l a d e s h Project (RCEP ) , the Commu n i t y Lives t o c k considered the cases of SAPAP and the and Dairy Devel o p ment Project (CLDDP) Sir ajganj local gover nance project funded and the Urban Commu n i t y Empowe rm e n t by UNCDF. The Pakistan re p o rt Project (UCEP) . Results were as follow s : c on s i d e red other projects such as RCEP comprised four projects that the Pakistan Community Development had generated 1,380 VOs and served Project for the Rehabilitation of 27,646 members in 335 villages and 9 Waterlogged and Saline Land, funded Upazillas. They aimed to empower the by UNDP and Australian AID. This poor by encouraging participatory local 1 6 information is summarized in Table 5. action and building capacity through 3 . THE MAC RO E CONOMIC AND POLICY ENVIRO N M E N T

social mobilization, micro-finance and B OX 6 : BA N G LA D E S H technical training. CLDDP was directed by the Gram e e n The Sirajganj Local Governance Development Project started in July 1999 and is expected to continue until December Bank of Bangladesh and not run by a 2004. During this period it has to cover all the 81 Union gover nment agency. It covers 19 Upazilla s Parishads (UP) of the district of Sirajganj.The brief aims of situated in the Northwestern District the project are: of Bangladesh. ■ Delivery of small-scale local infrastructure services UCEP was located in the slums of ■ Building capacities of local government bodies to plan, three cities and eight municipal towns, finance and manage basic development activities in a responsive and accountable manner targeting 37,420 poor households. The ■ Drawing lessons on improved local government practices programme sought to empower the poor of wider relevance in Bangladesh by organizing small groups to identify com m o n service needs of their res p e c t i v e A base line study and capacity assessment was carried out in February 1998, before the final formulation of the project. com mu n i t i e s ; to prep a r e Ward - l e vel devel - Three different participatory workshops were arranged, two opm e n t plans; to mobilize micro capital; in Sirajgang and one in Dhaka to ensure the ownership of the and to develop income-generating skills. project at both micro and macro level. The documentation suggests that these meetings were widely participated and India successful. After these dialogues the drafting of the project The SAPAP in India was initiated in 20 document was finalized in April 1998 and the Government signed the final agreement on July 1999. The key player of Mandals of three Districts in Andhra the pro j e ct is the UP, the lowest elected local body in Pra d e s h . It cove red a population of Bangladesh, which has thrived for more than a century in 194,000 of whom 53% fell below the spite of many ups and downs in the country’s history. New poverty line. It had strong backing from institutions above as well as below the UP were created to the state gove rnment and spawned carry out specific developmental work within the UP with the 5,201 self-help groups (SHG) federated financial capital grant from UNDP. in 380 commu n i t y organizat i o ns coveri n g Source: Akash,2002. 64% of the target households. Women’s p a rt i c i p a t i on in these com mu n i ty network to realize its goals. The Village organizations was very high (98%). De vel o p ment Committees (VD Cs) were The perf o rmance of SAPAP in on the lowest tier of such administrative An d h ra Pradesh had led the state units and constituted a federation of gove rnment to implement it at the state level, with the help of the World villages. They were already engaged in B a n k , t h rough the An d h ra Pra d e s h poverty alleviation programmes under- D i s t rict Pove rty Initiatives Pro j e c t written by the Government of Nepal ( A P D PIP) and the An d h ra Pra d e s h (GON). By the year 2000 the SAPAP Ru ral Pove rty Reduction Pro j e c t pro g r amme cover ed seven VD Cs and had (APRPRP). These incorporated the key set up 210 VOs with 5,910 members, or lessons from SAPAP with appropriate 95% of the target population in the modifications and additions such as a Syangja District. While the programme risk management com p onent and a was open to all households, 64% of those common investment fund. participating were classified as poor. In addition, the APDPIP concept The success of SAPAP in Nepal had was extended to other states such as prompted the GON to seek UNDP Madhya Pradesh and Rajastan, again assistance to upscale the project, with with support from the World Bank. a view to using the process of social mo b i l i za t i o n in other, similar proj e c t s .T h e Nepal SA P AP approa c h had been implemented SAPAP in Nepal was woven into the in two meso-level programmes covering existing deve l o pment administra t i ve 270,000 households across Nepal.These 1 7 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

B OX 7: PA K I S TAN – CO O R D I N ATION WITH contested and had a very high turnout of OTHER UN AGENCIES AND DONOR ORG A N I ZATIONS female voters. I nte rn ational lending agencies and donors have placed Another micro-level project studied s pecial emphasis on pove rty re d u ction in assisting the was the Project for Rehabilitation of Government of Pakistan. In an effort to redress and nullify Wat e r logged and Saline La n d ,s u p p o rt e d the basic perception about the impact of policies of IMF, by UNDP and Aus t r alian Aid.This proj e c t World Bank and WTO on poor people, the IMF has introduced was a technical one. It sought to increase poverty reduction and growth facility to replace structural soil productivity for farmers through the ad j u s t m e n t facility.The Asian Devel o p m e n t Bank has rece nt l y p rom o t i on of sustainable biologica l finalized its long-term lending strategy, until 2015, which farming systems for the reclamation and en visages 40 per cen t of future lending for pover ty red u ct i o n . re h a b i l i t a t i on of saline-affected and The major expenditure of World Bank is also earmarked for waterlogged land. The project covered pove rty re d u ction prog ra m m e s. UNDP and seve ral other 53 villages in three Districts of Punjab bilateral donors have shifted their interest more towards Province and targeted seven per cent of the pove rty re d u ct i o n . Howeve r, these po l i cy changes have affected area. Altogether it rehabilitated created problems of duplication, wastage and inefficient use of resources because most of the donors have invested in 2,300 acres at a cost of $1,800 per acre, pover ty red u c tion progr amme without effect i v e coord i n at i o n wh i c h is ver y expensive by local standards . among themselves and with the government. The first level While this did not meet the technical coord i n a tion can ensure that all pro j e cts undert a ken by ex p e c t a t i on s , it did succeed in mobilizing di f fe re n t donors are con s i s te n t with the gove rn m e nt’s overa l l the community. s t rate gy of pove rty re d u ct i o n . This coo rd i n ation is the The third micro- l e vel project studied responsibility of the federal government, but unfortunately in the country report was the Northern not very strong in Pakistan. The second level coordination Ar eas Devel o p ment Prog r amme (NAD P ) . among donors is also very weak in Pakistan. This invo l ved 250 commu n i t y organizat i on s Source: Akash,2002. and 250 Women’s Development Groups (WDG ) . It mobilized commu n i t y cred i t and trained villagers in activities related programmes, the Participatory District to agric u l t u r e, animal husbandry, po u l t r y, Development Programme (PDDP) and et c . , pr oviding services for approxi m a t e l y the Lo cal Gove rnment Pro g ra m m e, 10,000 households in one of the most were funded by the UNDP. In addition, remote areas of Pakistan. In terms of the GON had been persuaded to extend social mobilizat i on , the Lac hi project and the programme to 15 other VDCs in the NADP were noticeably successful. Syangja District, as well as to 40 other The meso-level area development Districts across the country. project in Balochistan was implemented to achi e ve sustainable human devel o pm e n t Pakistan in the rur al areas there. It generated 1,200 The Lachi project under SAPAP was com mu n i t y organizat i o ns and, using their undertaken in Lachi Tehsil, in Kohat p a rt i c i p a t i on , rehabilitated lands for D i s t rict in the No rth West Fron t i e r ag ri c u l t u r e, enhanced human res o u r ces and Province (NWFP). It had spawned 321 established a well-equipped Geographic c om mu n i ty organiza t i ons inv o lv i n g In f o rm a t i o n System (GIS) unit and three 10,502 members, and had mobilize d soil testing laboratories. over Rs.3 milli o n (around US$52,300) in sa v i n g s , initiated 73 infras t ru c t u r e proj e c t s Sri Lanka and trained 1,108 village specialists. The SAPAP programme covered three During the recent local body elections, out of five Divisions in a single District when most of the special seats for (out of the 25 Districts in the country), women were filled uncontested, in the reaching 14,657 people. Women’s par- 1 8 project area every single special seat was ticipation was significant, at 53%. 3 . THE MAC RO E CONOMIC AND POLICY ENVIRO N M E N T

The meso-level programme, Area B OX 8: SRI LA N KA – PILOT PRO G RAMMES AT MESO LEV E L Based Growth with Equity Programme (ABGEP) was implemented in the Uva The pilot programme implemented in the Province of Uva is Provi n c e , one of the poorest of the country’s aimed at fostering broad-based private sector-led economic growth with equity so as to create a sufficiently strong and nine provi n c e s . Its objectives were two f o l d : sustainable economic basis for lifting the poor permanently to increase employment and incom e out of poverty. Its interventions are guided by two objectives through expansion and diversification of which can through their interactions produce synergistic economic opportunities led by private effects.The first is expansion and diversification of econom- sector growth; and to build the capacity ic opportunities to increase employment and income.This of the participating public sector agencies requires stimulation of private sector initiatives to achieve to strengthen prov i s i on of serv i c e s . higher levels of productivity and production and market the A B G EP’s pove rty re d u c t i on effort s output on the best terms possible.The second is to develop sought to build horizontal and vertical “f u n ctional ca p a c i t i e s” in the part i c i p ating public secto r links among NGOs, CBOs, the private agencies, with the aim of strengthening the provision of resources and services from that sector on the basis of better sector and government agencies through governance. From its meso-level position, the ABGEP can a holistic sub-national deve l o pm e n t strengthen linkages with both the local and national levels approach at the meso-level. to tap regional capacities and at the same time fo rg e st r onger partnerships with decent ra l i z ed govern m e n t agencies, the Cha m b er of Com m e r ce, NG O s , CBOs and the priv ate sector M AC RO - L EVEL INITIAT I V E S for regional development. While the programme’s equity objective is not strategized as such, poverty alleviation is The purpose of this section is not to expected to result as a matter of course from the creation of provide an exhaustive list of poverty employment in one of the poorest provinces. alleviation programmes for each country. Source: Hewavithrana,2002. Rather, it addresses poverty alleviation efforts and their consequences in each The assessment studied six macro- case in broad sketches. To this end, the le vel initiatives ,n a m e l y: (i) building cap a c i t y country reports scrutinized government for local gover nance by providing trai n i n g i n i t i a t i ves over the past one to five decades. The focus will be not on the for locals; (ii) non-formal sector employ- ef f i ca c y of these efforts , but on their effec t s ment generation by providing necessar y on poverty at large and their impact on t ra i n i n g ; (iii) mon i t o ring sustainable the environment in which micro-level development; (iv) promoting policy on anti-poverty efforts can operate. lo ca l - l e vel gover nance through advocac y; (v) facilitating pover ty red u c t i o n throu g h Bangladesh l o cal gove rnance by generating new For the past 15 yea r s , having adopted the kn o wledge inputs such as GIS techn i q u e s , structural adjustment policy prescribed in combination with advocacy efforts; by the Was h i n g t o n Cons e n s u s ,B a n g l a d e s h and (vi) the Local Initiative For Urban has been seeking to balance its capital Env i r onment (LIF E ) ,w h i c h helps the urba n and current account deficits. As Akash poor build horiz ontal links to improve their (2002) pointed out, the “modern private living conditions and influence policies sector did not perform well and the agri- for participatory local governance. culture has suffered from low growth”, It is important to re c o g n i ze the resulting in higher poverty rates. WB informal sector (which constituted 88% has acknowledged the failure, attributing of the total work force in Bangladesh in it to the “lack of domestic ownership of 1988) in poverty alleviation efforts, as these policies and the consequent lack of illustrated by the effect of macro policies strong commitment by the Government on the poverty level through its impact of Bangladesh (GOB)”. on the informal sector.For instance, 1 9 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

TABLE 4: P OV E RTY ALLEV I ATION PRO G RAMMES STUDIED BY CO U N T RY REPORTS Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Sri lanka Micro- SAPAP/KST,Micro Credit Subproject, SAPAP SAPAP SAPAP,Pakistan Community SAPAP Level Sirajganj Local Governance Development Project for the Development Project (UNCDF) Rehab. of Waterlogged and Saline Land (AUSAID, UNDP), Northern Area Development Programme (IFAD, UNDP) Meso-Level Rural CEP,Urban CEP,Community APRPRP PDDP, Lachi Poverty Reduction ABGEP Li ve s t ock and Dai r y Devel o p m e n t Proj e c t (World LGP Project (UNDP, DFID), Area Bank), Development Programme: DP I P s in AP Balochistan (UNDP, WFP), ADP/AJK (UNDP, IFAD) Macro- Building Cap a c i t y for Local Govern a n c e SCDP, PLUS FPR/PS Level: (UNOPS,NILG), Non-formal Sector RUPP, Donor Em p l oy m e n t Gen e r ation (Priv ate sector , REDP, sup- NGOs, GOB), Monitoring Sustainable SDAN ported Development (UNOPS), Promoting Policy on Local Governance and Decentralization (UNDESA,UNCDF, GOB), Facilitating Poverty Reduction th r ough Local Govern a n c e (GOB, pri v ate sector, NGOs),LIFE (UNOPS) Macro- (ii) through (v) above. Five-Year Five-Year RDP,VAP,BD RWP, PP, Janasaviya Level: Plans, CDP, Plans TWP, SAP (1989), State RWP, DPAP, Samurdhi supported SFDA, (1994) MFAL IRDP, NREP

fiscal cutbacks led to slower growth and em p hasis on balancing capital and curren t increased unemployment and resulted in ac c o u n t s . The focus on pover ty shifted from the expansion of the informal sector; income and employment to basic needs. s i m i l a rly, d ev a l u a t i on , while helping In addition, the State adopted targeted some sectors, adversely affected those in po ver ty allev i a t i o n through self-employme n t , the informal sector who relied on wage employment, public distribution imported raw materials. sy stems and the national social assistance pro g ra m m e . The latter was a social securit y India system that was introduced in 1995 and The assessment rev i ewed the thre e was the first of its kind in India. phases of the poverty alleviation agenda India made significant stri d e s ,p a rt i c- outlined in India’s past nine Five-Year ul a r ly in the 80s. How e ver , it continues to Pla n s . The first phase was focused on asset face many difficult challenges, including redistribution such as land distribution, re l a t i ve ly high unemployment (7%), abolishing interme d i a r y landholding like se ver e malnutrit i o n among rur al chi l d re n Zamindari and attaining food security (over 50%) and a high infant mortality th r ough the infusion of new techn o l o g i e s rate (IMR) (72 per thousand live births), like those of the Green Revolution. The stagnant for the past several years. In second phase (70s, 80s) recognized the this context, Mahendra Dev et al (2002) need to rethink the strategy and adopted h a ve questioned the claims of the a direct attack on poverty, with a focus Government of India (GOI) regarding on income and employment generation. the success of its anti-poverty measures. The last phase (90s) focused on growth They attribute the limited effect of anti- 2 0 and structural adjustment policies with poverty policies mainly to the lack of 3 . THE MAC RO E CONOMIC AND POLICY ENVIRO N M E N T

stakeholder parti c i p a t i o n and the attendant in Gu n dla Po ch a m p a lly there was a problems with targeting and delivery. shortage of garment workers for the new The GOI has taken corrective steps apparel park while 150 kilometres away, to improve its anti-poverty measures by: in Sircilla, power loom and handloom (i) incorporating Panchayati Raj in anti- workers were unemployed. In 2001-02 po ver ty prog r ammes to improve targeting the total potential demand for ru ra l and delivery systems;(ii) recognizing the credit of Rs.118,990 million (around importance of self-help groups (SHGs) US$2.5 billi o n) far exceeded the supply of in credit mobilization; and (iii) reducing Rs.95,600 milli o n (around US$2 billi on ) . duplication by consolidating its efforts. The paucity of inform a t i on on new Adjustment policies like trade liber- market opportunities had restricted the alization were shown to affect the poor participation of the private sector. and rural farmers in diverse ways; some gain from new opportunities while others Nepal suffer competition from cheap imports. The country report on Nepal traces the Again, the importance and signifi- history of macro-level anti-poverty ini- cance of the informal labour sector was tiatives since the late 50s. (See Table 4.) emphasized in the country report. The It became apparent that macro perspectives authors estimated that the informal dominated these initiatives, which had sector constituted around 90% of the limited input from micro- l e vel stakeholders. total labour force. Workers in this sector In initial development planning, as we r e not offer ed any legal prot e c t i o n as were in the case of India and other countries, their counterparts in the formal sector. po ver ty was equated to underde vel o pm e n t In addition, environmental protection and this resulted in an emphasis on building laws such as the Indian Forest Act and infrastructures and support systems.The the For est Cons e rv a t i o n Act affect milli on s basis for the choice of agenda, and the of people: nearly 35 million tribals who de s i g n , was the policy makers’ (or dono r s ’ ) rely on the forests for their subsistence; 275 mill i on of the ru ral poor who perception of the micro-level realities. depend on forest lands to varyi n g Re f o r ms (to decentral i z e and red i s t ri b u t e degrees; and approximately 100 million assets,e.g. land reforms) were not imple- Indians who rely on the forests for the mented and the building of infras t ru c t u r e fuel wood, non-timber forest products, turned out to be slow and limited due con s t ru c t i o n materia l s , et c . that cons t i t u t e to resource constraints. Without infra- their main sources of subsistence. s t ru c t u re and sustained com m i t m e n t Social prot e c t i o n in the formal sector from the State, the programmes led to was also found to be inadequate. For regional inequalities. instance, in many states the minimum Subsequent rethinking led to a shift wages were lower than the minimum in focus to productivity enhancement subsistence wage and in many areas even t h rough tech n o l o gy (e.g. the Gre e n these low minimum wages were not legally Rev o l u t i on ) . How e ver , the phi l o s o p hy was enforced. As a result, unemployment st i l l not poor-centred . Lat e r , a basic needs and low wage rate remained the primary approach was adopted in which poverty causes of rural poverty. It was noted as was seen as the deprivation of material well that 84% of rural women and 59% req u i r ements for the minimally acceptable of urban women were employed as fulfilment of human needs, including unpaid family workers. food. Considerable efforts were devoted Failures in the labour, credit and to fixing the yardsticks of individual commodity product markets were shown req u i r ements but the anti-pover ty efforts to adver s e l y impact pover ty. For instance, did not move beyond promises. 2 1 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

In the 90s a focus on pove rty a decline in public investment as a became a national priority along with p e rcentage of GDP, f rom 18.3% to s t a b i l i za t i on and adjustment policies. 13.4%. In addition, increasing sales taxes However, as in other countries, these on domestic manufactures reclaimed the policies had negative consequences for the decline in fiscal income due to reduced poor.For instance, the donor-imposed im p o r t tarif fs . These sales taxes adver s e l y w i t h d rawal of agri c u l t u ral subsidies a f fected income distri b u t i on as they reduced the competitiveness of Nepal’s affected the poor more than the wealthy. a g ri c u l t u ral products vis-à-vis India, The unemployment rate increased from which had open borders with Nepal but 3.5% during the 80s to 7.4% in 2001-02. s t i ll maintained subsidies. This was The incidence of poverty increased from compounded by reductions in the social 17% in 1988 to 38% in 2001. safety net due to the curtailment of In the past five decades the social transfers. G ove rnment of Pakistan (GOP) has M a c ro-policies of libera l i za t i on initiated many macro-policies and a d ve r s e ly affected the mountainous programmes. These include the Rural regions of Nepal where the imperatives Development Programme (RDP), the of cond i t i o ns such as frag i l i t y, ma r g i n a l i t y, Vi llage Aid Pro g ramme (VA P ) , t h e etc. put the population at a disadvantage People’s Work Programme (PWP), The in an open market driven by the profit Five - P oint Prog r amme (FPP), the Peo p l e ’s m o t i ve and focusing on intensity of Programme (PP), the Tameer-e-waten production. On the other hand, marke- Programme and the Social Action Plan tization could have opened up attractive ( S A P ) . Studies have con cluded that op p o r tunities for this reg i o n (e.g. th ro u g h while these initiatives did increase the the export of organic products and herbs le vel of output in rur al sectors, th e y failed and services like tourism). Harnessing to bring about qualitative changes in the such opportunities posed challenges in lives of the rural poor (Ahmed 2002). the form of necessary skills, investment, The Social Act i o n Plan (1992-2000) organization of producers, etc. had a total budget of Rs.127 billion Recognizing the need for decentral i ze d (US$2.2 billion) and aimed at improving and participatory approaches, the State human capital by targeting pri m a ry la u n c hed sever al nationa l - l e vel initiatives e d u ca t i on , p ri m a ry health ca re, ru ra l such as the Sustainable Development water supply and sanitation,and popula- Agenda for Nepal (SDAN), the Rural tion welfare. Urban Partnership Programme (RUPP) Based on the household survey and the Sustainable Capacity Devel o pm e n t c onducted by the Fe d e ral Bureau of Pro g ramme (SCDP), with the help Statistics of Pakistan, Ahmed (2002) of donors. concluded that the “social statistics not on ly failed to improve but actually Pakistan regressed in most respects – in primary The country report pointed out that education as well as in primary health”. during the period 1989-99, the pursuit The bulk of the poor in Pakistan of stabilization and adjustment policies were not covered by the social safety failed to realize growth and stabilization nets,particularly workers in the informal ob j e c t i ve s . Since then,st a b i l i za t i o n objectives sector, estimated at 3% of GDP and ha v e been rea l i z ed at the expense of growth . providing a key source of income for the Over the last two decades the persistent po o r . In fact, estimated informal tran s fe r s 2 2 contractionary fiscal policy has led to were three times larger than public ones. 3 . THE MAC RO E CONOMIC AND POLICY ENVIRO N M E N T

TABLE 5: THE CONCERN FOR AND FOCUS ON POV E RTY IN NEPA L : SELECTIVE INDICATORS OF EVO LU T I O N Contexts and Thrusts and Orientations Constraints/Consequences/ Perceptions of Poverty of Intervention Outcomes of Interventions

Beginning late 1950s,ag g re g at i v e Economic growth-focused series of Five-Year Plans, Li m i t ed donor intere s t ; res o u r ce con s t ra i nt s ; view of pover ty, pover ty equated building infrastructure and other main foundations of slow and limited infrastructure building; with under development;devel- development;“poor”and poverty unseparated from limited impact without infrastructure opment activities covered by general situation. Donor-supported initiation of and prolonged political commitments; Five-Year Plans I – III. generalized community development programme, emergence of regional inequities. 1964;unimplemented radical land reforms and decentralization initiatives.

Emphasis on spatial dimension Focus on Regional Planning with growth corridors, Regional differentiation; Panchayat sector of “aggregative view of poverty”; growth axis and growth centre approach linking programmes (initiated earlier) neglected; enhanced resource mobilization highland-lowland towns;adherence to popular pr odu ct i v e sectors byp a s s e d ; only symbol i c (though physical links) as “growth models”of 1950s-1960s; period coinciding implementation; rise in donor concern for pre-requisite for development with Plan IV, 1970-1975; focus on local resource pover ty, un e m p l oy m e n t, di s t ri b u t i v e justice (Plan IV 1970-75). mo b i l i z at i o n / e xtra c tion rather than rur al devel o p m e nt ; and integrated rural development. enhanced donor involvement.

Harnessing the ecological Sectoral growth strategies covering agriculture, Primary focus on resources, productivity, niche/potential of productive forestry, horticulture, irrigation/energy, tourism; in f ra s t ru ct u r e suppor t,et c.di s re g a r ding the sectors; continued focus on initiation of IRDP approach; focus on Green “peo p l e ”as a cent r al agency;gr owth of spati a l “aggregative view of poverty”. Revolution technologies. and group inequities;enhanced donor in vol ve m e n t and rise of diversified approa c h e s .

Pleading for more inclusive/ World Bank-supported IRDP; top priority to agriculture Strong focus on agriculture;neglect of integrated and people-centred (Green Revolution focus);local development through other productive sectors;donor-driven and ap p r oaches based on past learni n g Pan c h a yat sector ; peo p l e - o ri e n ted strateg y; IR D P ;spe c i a l top-down focus;limited concern and local and donor perspectives and group programmes and new District plans;integrated pa rt i c i p at i o n ; lack of uniform i t y and linkag e s support (coinciding with Plans V st r ate g i e s :I nteg r ated Rur al Area Progra m m e , Small Area of prop osed progra m m e s ; missing inform a - and VI,1975-80 and 1980-85). Development Programme, and Integrated Panchayat tion base to plan,implement and evaluate Rural Development Programme (IPRD);target group the multiple activities;decisions and gains oriented activities (SFDP, PCRW, etc.). favoured better off groups.

Basic needs approach Elaborate preparations, fixation of norms/yardsticks The programme (with high potential for (Post Referendum slogan) to of individual requirements (food, clothes,health, poverty alleviation) did not move beyond demonstrate Panchayat Systems’ ed u c ation );goal to red u c e pover ty and raise econ o m i c promises, intentions and (unpublished) concern for the people (Plan VII, conditions of people to Asian standard by 2000; reports/recommendations;ambitious, 1985-90). “use of poverty”by the rulers. un-implementable plans due to resource scarcity and capacities.

For first time, clear focus on Detailed spadework through research and analysis of Per s i s te n c e of common con s t ra i n ts affect i n g poverty alleviation as national past efforts;planning future approaches to reduce past efforts: poor targeting and beneficiary priority (Plan VIII,1993-97); poverty through national discourse on poverty, NPC, selection problems, top-down approach Initiation of macro-economic involvement of donors and other agencies;promotion and disregard of micro-level diversities structural reforms continued of simple param e t ers to identify poor and their physi ca l , limited participation/involvement of to date with little attention to economic and social location;building on past best potential beneficiaries;absence of their negative effects on poor. pra ct i c es (ranging from credit to con s t ru c tion acti v i t i e s ) pr ovisions addressing ultra poor ; do m i n a n c e initiated but partially implemented;decentralization of elites “excluding poor” in different to increase participation;special programmes for ways; consistent support of donors, NGO poor, backward areas to increase poor’s access to participation,enhanced understanding productive resources and social services;enhanced and preparation of foundation for and more proactive role of donors. continuing the approach.

Further deepening of poverty Initiation of different measures, assisted by donors Area-wise differences in intensity concerns and expansion of and NGOs, to:promote bottom up approaches, and impacts of efforts;heavily donor- poverty-focused approaches and decentralization and participation-based initiatives; driven process; poor links/coordination measures (Plan IX 1997-2002 give attention to ultra-poor and methods to build of spatially (district-wise) scattered plus approach to Plan X) wom e n ’s and poor ’s capacities for self-help (e.g . mi c ro - initiatives;problems of vertical or focusing on decentralization credit),empowerment and social mobilization;efforts horizontal upscaling of success offered and participation etc. as a part to enhance transparency and accountability at local an important window for promoting of PRSP. levels;efforts to recognize and use poor’s capacities. bottom-up approaches. Intensification of macro- Economic liberalization, external market links Reduced social transfers;little gains of economic structural reform enhanced;pressure of donor conditionalities reduced liberalization for the poor. programmes; focus on PRSP. “social transfers”.

Source:Joda,2002.

2 3 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

Sri Lanka co o p e ra t i o n with dono r s . The Fram ew o r k The State had undertaken several anti- for Poverty Reduction (FPR) was an poverty initiatives and, till the late 70s, “a n a lyt i cal and con s u l t a t i ve p ro c e s s had a history of pri o ritizing human inv o l ving partners and res e a r ch institutes”. capital over working capital. During the The Poverty Reduction Strategy and last decade there were two notable state- Agenda (PRS ) ,p re p a red according to the s p on s o red anti-pove rty pro g ra m m e s , guidelines of the IMF and the World na m e l y,Janasaviya (1991-94) and Samu rd h i Bank, operationalized the policies and ( 1 9 9 5 - 2 0 0 0 ) . The Janasaviya project st r ategies identified in the FPR.These were targeted the very poor, to mitigate the focused on (i) building a macro- e c on om y effects of structural adjustment policies. su p p o rt i v e of pro-poor growth with stake- This programme involved a full-time holder parti c i p a t i on ; (ii) developing human ca d re of human re s o u rces deve l o p e r s res o u rc e s ; (iii) empowe r ing the poor throu g h who were specifica lly trained in the decentralization that ensures community techniques of mobilizing the poor. It participation in resource management; focused on social development, micro- and (iv) strengthening governance. fi n a n c e , nu t ri t i o n and rur al infras t ru c t u r e Another effort was to provide nationa l - development. Its successor,Samurdhi, le vel follo w-up on the initiatives throu g h was also aimed at mobilizing the poor, a Pro g ramme of Catalytic Initiative s with over 30,000 full-time paid cadres. (PCI) for the social and econ om i c These ca d res were selected for their political allegiance to the Government empowerment of the poor. This was of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and assigned to implemented in nine (out of the 22) m o b i l i ze support for the incumbent districts. Its mission was to identify and government through their assistance to correct the weaknesses of the SAPAP the poor. The programme has become process and to disseminate information. an instrument of the disbursement of Its concerns were the sustainability of patronage for the GOSL. CBOs and linkages for accessing funds, Within the fram ew o r k of the nationa l services and markets and influencing pro-poor growth approach, other anti- pro-poor policy through a bottom-up poverty initiatives were undertaken in process (Hewavitharane 2002).

2 4 4. Analysis of Micro-Macro Linkages ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

It is necessary to re c o g n i ze at the ■ Civic participation and social capital outset that the poor do not constitute a mobilization monolithic body throughout the region. ■ Enhanced institutional capacity to C ri t i cal diffe rences exist in available run programme political space and collective capacity to ■ Capital accumu l a t i on to ensure co mbat multi-faceted depriv a t i o n cau s e d sustainability of programme by specific institutional, political and ■ Enhanced human capabilities cultural factors. Consequently, strategies ■ In s t i t u t i o nal (horiz ontal and vert i ca l ) to alleviate poverty also have to differ. links to resources and distributive He n c e , the focus of this analysis is to draw channels and the building of nationa l general lessons for the future rather than entities to produce a blueprint for interventions. ■ Links to markets for inputs and outpu t s In addition, it is necessary to keep in ■ National ownership of interventions mind that the ultimate goal of anti- poverty strategies cannot be reduced to Civic Pa rt i c i p ation and eliminating income pove rty alon e ; Social Capital Mo b i l i z at i o n income poverty alleviation is the means Pe o p l e - c e n t re d , d e c e n t ra l i zed pove rty to achieve the elimination of human alleviation initiatives seek to engage the poverty. Hence, the focus is on linkages stakeholders in active participation in all that might equip the poor to overcome stages of the process – from design to their human poverty. im p l e m e n t a t i o n and moni t o ri n g . Cl e a r ly, civic participation is a worthy end in itself in the pursuit of deeper democracy M I C RO/MESO LEVEL POV E RTY and free d om . In addition , it has an A L L EV I ATION PRO G RA M M E S i n s t rumental role to play in pove rty a ll ev i a t i on in terms of eliminating The participatory micro-level initiatives information asymmetries between the were undertaken partly in response to centre and the periphery (or between the i m p roving the top-dow n , s u p p ly - s i d e ma c r o and the micro) that cha ra c t e ri z e top- state initiatives. Micro- and meso-level dow n , su p p l y-focussed macro- i n i t i a t i ve s . programmes considered in this report A mobilized civil society could better had two-fold objectives . Fi r s t ,t h ey helped articulate local interests and demands to communities (regions) to mobilize and the centre, se r ve as a defender of political build social networks and self-sustaining and social rights and become a provider community organizations. Ideally, these of goods and services. or g a n i za t i o ns and netwo r ks would generat e Malik and Wagle (2002) have pointed the necessary working and human cap i t a l out that such mobilizat i o n has its down s i d e to make their efforts sustainable and to as well ,s u ch as the limitations of utilizing mo nitor prog r amme effec t s . Sec on d ly, th e y le s s o ns from micro projects in parti c i p a t o r y aimed to use their concrete experience to p rocesses of larger scale initiative s . influence the agenda and the efficiency Negative factors were recognized and of macro processes against poverty. discussed in the context of the country As mentioned earlier, the purpose of rep o rt s ,w h i c h inclu d e d : the high tran s a c t i o n this rep o r t is not to evaluate the success or costs of building and maintaining civic fa i l u r e of individual prog ra m m e s .H ow e ver , p a rt i c i p a t i on (part i c u l a rly that which to draw lessons for macro- l e vel initiatives , includes the real poor); the risk that successful parti c i p a t o r y local - l e vel proj e c t s those mobilized will be captured by local need to be identified. Some key outcome s elites (or serve to legitimate the majorit y 2 6 of successful projects are: that is actively excluding minorities); 4 .A N A LYSIS OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAG E S

and the legitimacy of such mobilizations also provide channels of inform a t i on (most organizations mobilized were of transfer from the micro to the macro. In an ad hoc nature and not necessarily ad d i t i on , co ll a b o ra t i o n with other similar representative of any group). While civic programmes may add to the synergies engagement may be reg a r ded as a general and enhance links to resources. go o d ,m a ny prac t i t i o ners have res e rv a t i on s on its universal applicab i l i t y. For instance, Deve l o p m e nt of links to s ome con c e rns have been expre s s e d m a rkets for inputs and outputs regarding civil society’s participation in The supply of inputs and market for technical aspects of economic decisions. outputs of a programme were key to its Another worry has to do with instances success. Without access to markets,local involving potential conflict of interest, pro g r ammes are not sustainable.To preven t e.g. inter-temporal trade-offs (current locals from being trapped at a low-level au s t e ri t y measures to curb future inflation) equilibrium, village economy should be or the significant risk of capture by the integrated with outside markets. elite or dominant group (e.g. caste or class elites in villages). M I C RO LEVEL En h a n ced Institutional I N I T I AT I V E S : F I N D I N G S Ca p a c i ty to Run Prog ra m m e s Me c hanisms of parti c i p a t i o n and effec t i v e As pointed out, there is a strong need to programming require the building of demonstrate the viability of alternatives institutions such as VOs, SHGs, CSOs, to the forme r ly dominant ideas of supply- l o cal NGOs, e t c . E x p e rience gained side focus and top-heavy poverty allevi- f rom pro g rammes could lead to ation policy frameworks in the region – improved institutional settings for the hence the micro-level interventions by implementation of future ones. UNDP and other donor agencies.These efforts also augmented the legitimacy of Ac c u m u l ation of Ca p i t a similar micro initiatives that were To become sustainable and proliferate, already in place in the region. Thus, w h e rever feasible pro g rammes should these micro poverty initiatives were very attain financial independence as quickly relevant to poverty alleviation efforts. as possible. Gi v en the limited availability Within this context, the country studies of grants, and the risk of falling into a highlight a number of steps that would macro, top-down governance orbit, such improve the supply-side effectiveness of an effort must begin in the early stages such programmes, particularly those of of operation. UNDP:

En h a n ce m e nt of Assessing the demand Human Ca p a b i l i t i e s for the prog ra m m e Poverty alleviation programmes should There is a need for a structured way also enhance the skills and levels of liter- of assessing the demand for the acy of those involved. programme at the design/input stage, both to avoid failures and to allocate Deve l o p m e nt of Ho ri zo ntal scarce resources equitably. In very few and Ve rt i cal Links instances was failure directly tied to lack The success of a programme depends on of demand. For instance, in the its accessing distributive channels and Waterlogged and Saline Land Project in resource networks. Such vertical links Pakistan, jointly undertaken by UNDP 2 7 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

B OX 9: P OV E RTY ALLEV I ATION IN INDIA phenomenal growth of the Grameen Bank (GB). Starting from an operation The major criticism of the government based anti-poverty in a single village in 1976, the GB today p rog rammes re l ates to lack of pe o p l e’s part i c i p at i o n . The approach seems to be more technocratic and top-down has over 2.3 million members and covers in implementing these prog ra m m e s. The micro level 41,187 villages. However, the absence experiences have shown that there is a need for greater of a culture of savings at the local level engagement of Panchayats and NGOs, self-help groups and may work against the success of such a com m u n i t y based orga n i z a tions for strengthening govern m e n t venture elsewhere. This is evidenced by employment programmes. the low savings rates in Pakistan and Sri Source:Mahendra Dev 2002. La n k a , w h e re savings per household have been estimated by UNDP (2001e) and AUSAID, the local population was as US$3.2 and US$4.5 per household, resistant to the idea of using saline land respectively, compared to US$30.1 per that had been reclaimed. This pointed household in Bangladesh. M o re ove r, to a systematic need for streamlining even when micro-finance was effective the methodology for choosing the at the local level it did not translate into pro g r amme to be funded. Similar situations ma c r o pover ty allev i a t i on . While the GB w e re observed in Sri Lanka and is the largest bank of its type in the world , Bangladesh. A demand stemming from it serves only 4.5% of Bangladesh’s total lo c al needs increased the likelihood of civic poor population (50.8 million). participation, and national ownership. The influence of micro anti-poverty efforts on similar macro efforts need not I n co rpo rating be direct and immediate. As experience existing stru ct u re s fr om micro- c r edit show s ,l o cal efforts could The positive results in Nepal clearly pr ovide fer tile ground for institutional inno- de m on s t r ates the benefits of incorpo ra t i n g va t i on . For instance, tra d i t i o nal banks rel y existing struc t u r es into pover ty interven t i on s on tangible assets as co-lateral for rec o veri n g d u ring the implementation stage. I n loans – a system that automa t i ca l ly exclu d e s instances where parallel structures had the assets derived from capital markets. to be set up, results have been mixed.For Against this back d ro p, m i c ro - c re d i t instance, the Nuwara Eliya project in Sri banks have successfully explored tapping Lanka was engaging in anti-pove rty local social capital as a mechanism for activities along with state-spon s o re d recovering loans (e.g., for the GB, which operations. The Nuwara Eliya project uses social capital as collateral, the loan was perceived as outside competition by recovery rate is 98% and 356 of the GB’s the state operations and faced difficulties 1,176 branches show a 100% recovery in becoming operational. rate). In practice, however, it is quite possible that the pres s u r e to rep a y exert e d Mobilizing local by members of a peer network could lead ca p i t a l / re s o u rce s to inefficiencies, su c h as borrowers taking Nea r ly all micro projects studied mobilized out loans at higher interest rates in order local capital to provide micro-finance to to repay their original debts to micro- their members. At a broader level, the credit banks. At the conceptual level,the c oncept of micro-finance met with need to make institutions and practices different levels of success in different less exclusionary is an important lesson c o u n t ri e s . It was most successful in that macro efforts can learn from the 2 8 B a n g l a d e s h , as evidenced by the experience of micro entities. 4 .A N A LYSIS OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAG E S

M AC RO ECONOMIC TABLE 6: I M PACT OF THE MAC RO POLICY POLICY REGIME: E F F E C TS E N V I RONMENT ON POV E RTY AND INEQUA L I TY ON POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N Macro Policies Indicative Poverty Impacts at Micro Level

Macro policies have yielded intended Privatization ■ Market-driven priorities, norms, resource and unintended consequences for the allocations, etc. resulted in marginalization of the production systems and sustenance target population and the population as strategies of the poor. a whole. The impact of macro policies ■ Inequalities increased in the short term. on poverty and inequality, analysed since Trade ■ External competition had adverse impacts on the 60s, has received increased attention Liberalization market value of local commodities (affecting products and wage earnings of the poor). since the intro d u c t i on of stru c t u ra l ■ Trade also produced cheaper goods that adjustment policies in the 80s (e.g. benefited those poor with purchasing power. Co r nia et al 1987). How e ver , it should be ■ Inequalities increased bet ween differe n t sector s . kept in mind that it is difficult to isolate Fiscal Policy ■ Cuts in public expenditure when revenue cannot be raised to balance the budget. and assess the long - t e r m effects of macro ■ Increase in debt burden with rising service policies as these will always be mediated charges for past deficit financing. ■ Both lead to drain on productive investment/ by the short-term effects of subsequent social sector investment affecting the poor. policies and institutional changes. ■ This leads to added impact on wom e n :t h e y have to increase time spen t on unpaid labour or red u c e Loc al pover ty allev i a t i o n prog ra m m e s consumption to cope with the reductions in ha v e to negotiate with, and are shaped by, household income and social welfare. ec on o mic and social welfare policies at the Monetary Policy ■ Inflation (if money is printed to cover the national level that include: (i) short-run fiscal deficit) harms the poor more since it has a regressive impact on real income. sta b i l i z ation policies, (ii) adjustment policies ■ Moreover, the poor also suffer a credit (liberalization packages), and (iii) comple- crunch,if contractionary monetary policy is mentary policies. (See Table 6 for selected implemented to curb inflation. macro policies and their consequences.) Sectoral Policies ■ Institutional and resource inequity-based (e.g. agricultural handicaps. development ■ Constraints on high input-based options for (i) St a b i l i z ation Po l i c i e s with focus on the poor. Green Revol u t i o n ■ Disregard of diversification-based livelihood The Wa s h i n g t on Consensus is that technologies) security systems. stabilization policies are essential pre- Asset ■ Alters initial inequalities and enhances pro- requisites for market-based adjustment Redistribution poor growth,leading to gains for the poor. policies to promote growth without Policies (e.g. ■ Poor ly planned and implemented progra m m e s land reform) may lead to re-concentration of land in the impairing income distribution,at least in hands of new class of landowners. the long-term. The stabilization policies prescribed to these five countries by the Wo rld Bank and IMF re q u i re d rates at which capital and labour are implementation of the following: utilized, etc. Moreover, the orthodoxy ■ Fis c al policies to curb deficit spending, p re s c ribes balanced budgets to curb ■ Exchange rate policies to balance public spending that is claimed to crowd trade, and out private investment. In contrast, the ■ Mon e t a r y policies to contain inflation. heterodoxy argues that there is comple- mentarity between public spending and It is claimed that these have only private investment in the long term. short-term implications and do not have Public expenditure is needed to develop any direct long-term impact on poverty. human capital (e.g. by eliminating illi t e ra c y However, the heterodox economists (e.g. and ensuring accessible and affordable Rao 2002, Wade 2001, Amsden 2000) health car e) and to provide social prot e c t i o n argue that short - t e rm policies leave networks (in the form of social security, long-term imprints on how public and gender securi ty, a minimum level of private domains share resources, on the nutrition, preventive public health care, 2 9 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

would be ensured through policies of: “ L i be ra l i z ation policies cannot be tre ated as purely ■ financial liberalization, economic measures to which socio-political developments ■ are exogenous.” — Durham and Jayasuriya privatization/deregulation, and ■ trade liberalization.

access to clean water and sanitation, Ea c h of these policies has cons e q u e n c e s etc.) It must be categorically stated that for poverty and inequality. Privatization such efforts have intrinsic value in and of of state-owned industries had led to an themselves. They also serve to boost the entrenched increase in inequalities in quality of the labour force available for other sectors (for instance in Sri Lanka) the private sector and,al o ng with pro- p o o r and the rapid liberalization of trade has economic growth, have proved effective led to negative growth. This approach strategies against poverty. As illustrated can be compared with the controlled and by their case studies, both Kerala (in India) pa rt i a l ly administered trade liberal i za t i o n and Sri Lanka were able to enhance schemes of China and Viet Nam, which po ver ty red u c t i on , despite limited econom i c have been successful in attaining trade growth, by investing in human capital. balanced with growth. Again,heterodox It is clear that in this sub-region, or alternative economists (e.g. Rodrik sh o rt - t e r m stabilizat i o n policies had failed 2001, Rao 2002) have pointed to market to provide the basis for lon g e r - t e rm failures in the allocation of credit, the growth. The mandate to balance the financing of human capital, and in the budget even when a country was in gove rnance of financial systems and re c e s s i on or low growth led to the in t e rn a t i o nal capital flows . These econom i s t s cu r tailment of public expenditure and the have argued for shifting the focus from de t e ri o ra t i o n of social prot e c t i o n netwo rk s , m a rk e t s / l i b e ra l i za t i on in matters of wh i c h increased the incidence of pover ty. trade, finance and property rights to This was the case in Pakistan, where the alternative institutional arrangements. incidence of poverty has doubled since Again, the reports revealed a pattern 1989, after stabilization policies were of increased poverty and inequality that introduced. Similarly in Bangladesh, as was directly tied to adjustment policies. seen earlier, stabilization policies and the For instance, p ove rty incidence and consequent cuts in social programmes in c o me inequality in Sri Lanka increa s e d led to increased unemployment and in the 90s,during the period when many e x p a n s i on of the informal sector. state-owned industries were privatized Anticipated growth rates failed to (Du r ham and Jaya s u r iya 2000). Li b e ra l i z i n g materialize and investment in human ex change rates by floating (or the deva l u a t i o n capital had not recuperated the cutbacks. of) the currency would have at least had Contractionary monetary policies to short-term implications for the cost of br ing down inflation may limit the cred i t imports. As pointed out in the case of available or increase the cost of credit for Bangladesh, the devaluation of currency potential investors and borrowers. affected the segments of the informal sector that depended on imports for (ii) Ad j u s t m e nt Po l i c i e s their economic activity. The World Bank and IMF mandated L i b e ra l i za t i on policies cannot be these policies to varying degrees in the treated as purely economic measures to c o u n t ries studied. The assumption which socio-political developments are behind this approach was that growth exogenous. Analysing the Sri Lankan 3 0 and efficient inter-sectoral all o ca t i on ca s e,Du rham and Jay a s u riya (2000) 4 .A N A LYSIS OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAG E S

argued that the specific features of the Kuznets (1955), inequalities may be only liberalization policies and the manner in temporary as mature stages of growth wh i c h they were implemented interac t e d would cause them to decline. Many are with the existing structures of socio- not persuaded by these two claims (for p o l i t i cal re l a t i ons and netw o rks of i n s t a n c e, Alesina and Rodrik 1994, patronage. This resulted in the erosion MacEwan 1999 and some key orthodox of democratic participation in resource f i g u re s ,e . g.Sta n l e y Fis ch e r , First Deputy management, as well as in the erosion of Managing Director, IMF, 1995). Based security for labour in the formal and on a study of 48 countries, including informal sectors and of human security OECD countries, Alesina and Rodrik in general . The consequent socio-political (1994) observed that economic growth de vel o p ments created difficult cond i t i on s is negative ly correlated with incom e for micro poverty initiatives based on inequalities. Ravallion and Datt (1999) social mobilization. ob s e r ved that higher initial inequality meant a lower elasticity of poverty to economic (iii) Co m p l e m e nt a ry Po l i c i e s growth. Thus asset redistribution (e.g. These include policies that support the land ref o r m) is an essential comp o nent of co u n t r y’s devel o p ment prog ra m m e , su c h as: pr o-poor growt h .E m p l oyment generat i o n in the formal and informal sectors, with ■ Sectoral or regional policies adequate wages, was a key strategy to ■ Policies for the re d i s t ri b u t i on of reduce income poverty. assets (e.g. land and housing) Social policies that enhance human ■ Labour market policies to maximally capital include those that invest in: transform growth into productive universal education, particularly primary employment for the poor education; delivering health care even to ■ Social policies to develop human remote are a s , p a rt i c u l a rly preve n t i ve capabilities public health services; and ensuring that Se c t o ral policies selective ly target m i n i mum nutri t i onal needs are met. the enhancement of chosen sectors (for These initiatives were in comp e t i t i o n with instance, rural or urban areas). Having defence imperatives in many situations. explored the role of initial conditions For instance, in Sri Lanka, anti-poverty and the sectoral comp o s i t i o n of econom i c initiatives were undertaken in a climate gr owth in overa l l pover ty red u c t i o n in the of stabilization and adjustment policies Indian cont e x t , Rav a ll i o n and Datt (1999) and a full-scale civil war. Though the pointed out that elasticities of poverty to pro-poor initiatives were implemented n on - f a rm output varied appre c i a b ly, outside the area of direct conflict, the with consequences for overall poverty war had an impact on the whole econom y reduction. In other words, some sectors as an increasing fraction of the public needed more attention than others to funds were being channelled to the war b ring about equal pove rty red u c t i on . effort. During the 1991-2000 period, Thus sectoral policies were necessary for defence expenditure as a percentage of an equitable reduction of poverty. total public expenditure rose from 11.2% Initial inequalities had a significant to 17.7% while total social expenditures influence on growth and in translating fell from 11.2% to 9.8%. The poverty growth into poverty reduction. Early on, a ll ev i a t i on budget for Sa mu rdhi and economic orthodoxy argued that dealing Janasaviya suffered in particular, falling with inequalities must be left to the from 5.3% to 2% (Central Bank, Sri m a rk e t s . M o re ove r, as postulated by Lanka, Annual Report). 3 1 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

ex p e c t a n c y at birth for males and fem a l e s “The number of women dying of maternal mortality each year far exceeds the total number of people dying in wars”. is nearly identical (in Bangladesh and Pakistan) or slightly higher for males Source:WHO, 2002. (in Nepal). However, it should be noted that in industrialized countries, women TABLE 7: GENDER BIAS generally live five to eight years longer than men. In the sub-reg i on , females enjoy Country Life Expectancy at Birth Adult Literacy Rate (Years) (%, Age 15 and above) this level of advantage only in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the economic shocks due Males Females Males Females to stru c t u ral adjustment re f o rms had Ban g l a d e s h 58.9 59.0 51.7 29.3 di f fe r ential (social and econo mic) impacts India 62.4 63.3 67.8 44.5 on men and women (Taylor 2001). Duri n g adverse economic conditions (such as Nepal 58.3 57.8 58.0 22.8 reduced household income and social Pakistan 59.8 59.5 58.9 30.0 welfare) the implicit elasticity of the Sri Lanka 69.3 75.0 94.3 88.6 unpaid labour of women translated into additional time spent on such labour Source: Human Development Report 2001. and/or reduced cons u m p t i o n for wome n . For instance, cuts in social spending would result in women bearing the M AC RO-POLICIES – social cost of caring for the young and NEED FOR A MORE HOLISTIC the old, which might have been covered AND DYNAMIC APPROAC H by the public sector prior to the cuts. The changing priorities of the poor As pointed out earlier, the poor are not a re another aspect that anti-pove rty monolithic entities and their priorities initiatives fail to address. For instance, are diverse and ever changing.To target the threat of HIV/AIDS is not just a and deliver, poverty alleviation initiatives health prob l e m . On the Afric an cont i n e n t must rec o g n i z e cleavages among the poor the disease has produced an estimated and their changing pri o ri t i e s . Po l i cy 14 milli o n orphans (sourc e :U NAIDS) who makers and planners in the sub-region will fall into poverty without adequate had not adequately recognized the links s u p p o rt , pushed those affected into be t ween pover ty and gender.In c o me pover ty poverty when they are stripped of the and human pover ty cannot be meaningfu l ly ability to work, etc. In the sub-region addressed without analysing the role of HIV/AIDS could wipe out any gains gender inequality operating at the micro level . realized through anti-poverty measures For instance, f a m i ly income may be if unattended. As of 2001, there were distributed disproportionately in favour 3.97 million adults and children affected of males/boys if there is a gender bias. in India (UNAIDS) and the disease was There was substantial evidence for the at early stages in the other four countrie s . existence of such bias in large parts of Ant i - p o ver ty measures should incorpo ra t e the sub-reg i on . This could be observed in this new priority in the sub-region. the relative rates of mortality, morbidity, Macro policy regimes should adopt li t e ra c y, under nouris h m e n t , et c . be tw e e n a more holistic and dynamic approach the two genders. For disaggregated data to poverty alleviation that proactively on life expectancy and literacy rates, see incorporates social cleavages among the Table 7. With the exce p t i o n of Sri Lan k a , poor, such as gender relations, and their a ll countries studied show dramatic changing priorities, such as HIV/AIDS, 3 2 d i f fe rences in litera cy ra t e s . L i fe in anti-poverty efforts. 4 .A N A LYSIS OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAG E S

M AC RO INITIAT I V E S : B OX 10: N E PAL – ADDRESSING TOP DOW N , F I N D I N G S S U P P LY SIDE APPROAC H As a principal prom o t er of paradigm shift in “pover ty assessment Clearly the effect of the macro-policy approach”and partner in operationalizing the new concepts regime at the household or community th r ough parti c i p a tor y decent ra l i z ed devel o p m e n t inter vent i o n s , le vel is not alwa ys what the policy makers UNDP has addressed two main springs of ineffectiveness of intend. The effects of policies are best past pove rty allev i ation strate g i e s, namely “top dow n ap p ro a c h ” and “supply side focu s ” along with other struct u ra l understood by looking at the demand fe at u res of pove rty allev i ation inte rve nt i o n s ; changes in side and the supply side simultaneously. these may go a long way in changing the development The challenge of the demand side is to culture in Nepal and South Asia in general. meet the constraints of macro-balance (s t a b i l i za t i o n) without depressing aggreg a t e Source:Jodha,2002. demand, i.e. public investment to shield the income of the poor from damaging ■ With the exception of Sri Lanka, impacts. The supply side challenge is to these countries have not demons t ra t e d augment supply rather than restrict it – adequate commitment to countering by increasing the capabilities of the existing asymmetric gender relations poor, i.e. the supply response can be th r ough their approa c hes to devel o p - strengthened through a pro-poor policy. ment in general and pover ty allev i a t i o n The country studies showed: in part i c u l a r. In most instances, ■ Early efforts at poverty reduction in gender inequality at the household all countries suffered from a top- level translated to a smaller share of down approach with a supply-side household benefits and an increased f o c u s . These efforts had left the s h a re of the costs of econ om i c poverty fundamentals by and large downturn for women and girls. un t o u ch e d . Sub s e q u e n t l y, the macro- ■ For a number of reasons there were level thinking has evolved.However, also significant differences among macro actors differ in their level the countries in the outcomes of of acceptance of the relevance of anti-poverty efforts. First, the initial com mu n i t y parti c i p a t o r y approa ch e s c on d i t i ons and capacities of the to poverty alleviation. countries differed – e.g. Sri Lanka, ■ Al l countries shared similar experie n c e s had a smaller population and higher in having undergone stabiliza t i on human development than the other and adjustment pro g rammes and c o u n t ri e s , Bangladesh had the c onsequent re d u c t i ons in public most developed NGO community in ves t m e n t . The results were red u c e d in the sub-region, etc. Secondly, the in vestment in human cap i t a l ,i n c re a s e d configurations and textures of the poverty and inequality, and greater st ru c t u r al cons t r aints were differ ent – insecurity for the poor. e . g. the mountainous terrain of ■ One of the key aspects of anti- Nepal, the limited internal market po ver ty efforts is employment policies. in Sri Lanka, very high population Em p l o yment in all five countries was density in Bangladesh, etc. Finally, primarily through the non-formal the social investment priorities were sector ñ a sector that is particularly d i vergent – e.g. the decision to v u l n e rable to sudden changes in develop human capital over physical macro-economic variables. infrastructure in Sri Lanka. 3 3 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

B OX 11: INDIA – TRENDS IN EMPLOYMENT POLICIES Analysis of the local-level initiatives studied in the country reports under a Since many of the poor belong to the class of agricultural lens of micro-macro linkages led to the and landless labourers, labour intensive growth remains a following categorization of results: (i) critical part the Indian economy. Yet, this is an area where Interventions that failed locally without i m p a ct of micro inte rve ntions has been we a k . The daily s t atus unemploy m e nt rate in ru ral areas increased fro m leaving any legacy; (ii) Interve n t i on s 5.63% in 1993-94 to 7.21% in 1999-2000. Howeve r, the that left positive outcomes at the local overall employment growth in the country declined from level but failed to influence the macro; 2.04% during 1983-94 to 0.98% during 1994-2000. Much of and (iii) Interventions that succeeded at the decline in the growth was due to developments in two the local level and influenced the macro. sectors – agriculture and community social and personal services.These two sectors accounting for 70% of the total Mi c ro Fa i l u res and Fa i l u re employment have not shown any growth during the 1990s. to Influence Ma c ro Ef fo rt s Agriculture still contributes 60% of the total employment in The KST project in Bangladesh belongs the country, and has the potential of absorbing workers in to the first cat e go r y. It was not rep l i ca t e d regions with higher incidence of rural poverty, such as Orissa and had very limited impact on macro (48%), Bihar (44%0, Assam (40%), Madhya Pradesh (37%), policy making.To quote the country West Bengal (31.8%) and Uttar Pradesh (31.2%). report, “there was no effort to replace Source:Mahendra Dev, 2002. macro subsidies with local resources as the project was getting matured”. It “ignored the collective goals of social M I C RO - M AC RO LINKAG E S mobilization and rather concentrated on mi c ro - c r edit business based on subsidized It is clear from Table 1 that the devel o pm e n t su p p l y of grant mone y from the UNDP”. assistance provided by UNDP is but a Though there was a high level of GOB fraction of the ODA received by the five support for the initiative in the early co u n t r ies cons i d e r ed here. In this cont e x t , stages, it waned quickly. The initiative it would make strategic sense to focus failed to become sustainable and had no UNDP efforts on a few select pilot ownership towards the end. interventions to maximize the impact of Rehabilitation of Waterlogged and mi c r o initiatives on macro efforts .H ow e ver Saline La n d , in Pa k i s t a n , is another this has not been the prac t i c e . For instance, example of an initiative that failed due to in India there were17 sub-programmes lack of demand and ownership. The lack under Com mu n i ty Based Pro - Po o r of demand is attributed to the cultural In i t i a t i v es (CBPPI ) ,s u p p o rted by UNDP dissonance regarding the goal of using with an outlay of US$11.1 million for reclaimed land for agriculture. the period 1997-2002 (Country Evaluation: Mi c ro Su c cesses without India, Evaluation Office, UNDP, 2002). L i n kages to Ma c ro Ef fo rt s C onve r s a t i ons with personnel from At least three country examples illustrate UNDP Headquarters conf i r med that the this case, in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and preponderance of such small initiatives India.The Nuwara Eliya initiative in Sri will, in addition to posing problems in Lanka yielded mixed results locally. This terms of stretching the managerial and in i t i a t i v e came into conflict with existing monitoring resources of UNDP in a s t a t e - s p on s o red pove rty all ev i a t i on large country like India, fail to provide initiatives engaged in the same activities, the visibility necessary to impact the such as Janasaviya and Samurdhi. The m a c ro. Focusing re s o u rces more on state-sponsored efforts were by and large h i g h - v i s i b i l i ty pilot initiative s , as in p a t ronage-based and not inclined to Andhra Pradesh or Nepal, will be more a p p reciate the synergies gained by 3 4 ef fe c t i v e in creating micro- m a c r o linkages. joining forces with similar initiatives. As 4 .A N A LYSIS OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAG E S

su ch , this initiative lacked state own e r s h i p / FIGURE 4: TRENDS IN HUMAN DEV E LOPMENT INDEX commitment. However, the initiative did succeed in mobilizing civil society 0.75 and there was successful mobilization of Sri Lanka horizontal links as well. In the Sri Lankan situation , a n added dimension was dys f u n c t i on a l 0.50 decentralization, which contributed to a India Bangladesh ------disconnect between the micro and the Pakistan ma c r o.The highly central i z ed exec u t i v e and ------Nepal 0.25 legislature had not completely devolved 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 power to the fiscal and administrative de c e n t ra l i z ed units. This led to cons i d e ra b l e Source: Human Development Report 2002,UNDP. con f u s i o n at the at the sub-national level s . The meso-level Provincial Councils were inv o l ved with social mobilizat i o n activities. not functioning adequately and did not have clear institutional responsibilities Th u s , to add value to the engagement and powers – as a result inhibiting flow with the macro, UNDP initiatives have of funds to the local leve l . In fact, to come up with distinct and more UNDP was unable to rec o ver seed cap i t a l c re a t i ve models of civic engagement provided for productive physical infra- than those that already exist. Without structure as funds could not be realized such innovations, these initiatives will at the local level. Given the limited fail to alter the blockages between the po wers and their “ne e d ” to distribute these micro and the macro that are present in powers among an extensive patronage the form of perceptions, information ne tw o rk , the Provincial Councils essentially asymmetry, institutional mismatch and reduced the flow of information and asymmetric power relations. resources between the macro and the micro. Thus inappropriately functioning decentralization can hinder the micro- M I C RO SUCCESSES W I T H macro linkage. L I N KAGES TO THE MAC RO The La chi and No rt h e rn Are a Development Plan projects in Pakistan Despite the abject macro conditions that were also local successes. However, they continue to plague Nepal, the SAPAP entered the local scene as a part of the in i t i a t i v es in the country were “su c c e s s f u l” . wider Rural Support Programme (RSP) This is evidenced from the household- that existed in the region with a proven le vel data in Nep a l . For instance, be tw e e n successful tra ck re c o rd . It should be 1996 and 2000, the poorest of the poor noted that initiatives like those in Lachi de c lined from 16.6% of the VO members amounted to only 1.7% in terms of to 9.8% and the child immunization rate membership and 0.4% in terms of the ranged from 96%-98% in six out of capital mobilized by the RSP. Thus this seven VDCs covered (UNDP 2001e). It model of social mobilization coexisted is essential at this point to digress and with a plethora of other pover ty allev i a t i o n ad d r ess the conc e r n that many devel o pm e n t programmes and was an extension of the specialists expre s s :h ow could a prog ra m m e do minant institutional mechanism of the be a success when all macro conditions GOP to fight poverty. point to abject levels of human poverty? Sim i l a r ly, the Nuw a r a Eliya initiative A simple comparative analysis may yield in Sri Lanka was launched where organ- so me insights. The Human Devel o pm e n t izations such as CARE, Sinhala and the Index (HDI) trends of all five countries Tamil Rur al Wome n ’s Association had been over the past 25 years are presented in 3 5 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

Figure 2. HDI,being a composite index administration in Nepal. In addition, of human poverty, captures not just the SAPAP formed a District Coordination i n c ome dimension of pove rty but Committee (DCC) that linked all line k n owledge and health dimensions as agencies of the GON in the District well. The effectiveness of anti-poverty and the SAPAP . The DCC met reg u l a r ly e f f o rts are best re p resented by the to rev i ew pro g ress and became the changes in HDI during the period i n s t i t u t i on a l i zed interface of SAPA P c on s i d e re d . Note that the absolute with GON and a channel of information magnitude of HDI reflects the cumul a t i v e transfer from the micro to the macro. effects of past efforts. As such, it may This became a simultaneous horizontal not be an appropriate representation of and vertical link for the micro. outcomes of recent ones. Fi n a lly, the SAPAP pro g ra m m e Between 1975 and 2000, the HDI re c e i ved strong commitment from rate increase in Nepal was the highest GON. The programme interface with a m ong all five countri e s . (HDI was the GON has been institutionalized via increasing at a constant rate of 0.0074 the DCC. This, as will be discussed in per year.) In India and Pakistan the HDI detail in the lessons learned section, rate increase has actually declined since provides a vertical link with all line 1990. If change in HDI is indeed a agencies of GON working in the distric t . reasonable indicator of the effectiveness The SAPAP programme in Andhra of anti-poverty efforts, the effectiveness Pradesh, India is another initiative that of Nepal during the 90s is better than established active linkages with loca l that of the other countrie s . Thus “su c c e s s ” NGOs and had strong com m i t m e n t depends not only on the output but also from the state government. Here too, a on the rate of change of output. steering committee was established that As mentioned in the previous section, involved a senior state official and state the initiative in Nepal started in one resource flows to the SHGs and COs district involving 5,910 members. It was w e re ch a n n e lled through SAPA P. then extended to the meso-leve l ,c overi n g Further, links were established between 270,000 households, thanks in part to ongoing state government programmes the strong commitment from the State and SAPAP. The programme itself was and the UNDP. Th e r e are sever al rea s on s successful in terms of social mobilizat i o n, for this success. sustainability and interaction with the First, the initiative was designed to macro/meso. utilize the existing structures, such as However, the SAPAP here was a VDC that were involved with poverty s m a ll part of the pove rty all ev i a t i on re d u c t i on measures underwritten by initiatives undertaken by the state, GOI GON, NGOs and donors. This was in and NGOs. Prog r ammes like Devel o pm e n t di r ect cont r ast to the Sri Lankan experie n c e of Women and Children in Rural Areas wh e r e, for valid re a s on s ,p a ra llel struc t u re s and Revo l ving Fund of the District Rura l to the existing Janasaviya and Samurdhi D eve l o pment Agency commanded a programmes were created and initiatives re a ch that far exceeded that of the thus found themselves in competition SA PA P . Unlike in Nep a l , wh e r e the social with each other operationally. m o b i l i za t i on appro a ch was re l a t i ve ly Sec on d , at the design and functioni n g novel and likely to have influenced the stages, efforts were made to link the approaches of the macro, in India, the initiative with the macro. For instance, SAPAP entered an arena of pre-existing SAPAP was linked with the District i n i t i a t i ves with more re s o u rc e s . T h i s De vel o p ment Council (DDC) that served mitigated its impact on the macro and 3 6 as the focal point for local development micro-macro linkages. 5. Lessons Learned ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

Over the last few decades UNDP extended assistance provided by UNDP is only a its work in well over one hundred countrie s . fraction of the total assistance received Working with limited resources it built by all five countries considered in the h e a l t hy working partnerships with study (See Table 1). C on s e q u e n t ly, governments and policy makers around UNDP cannot expect to wield influence the globe. Its interve n t i ons against with governments based on the merits of poverty cover a wide range of arenas, its financial cont ri b u t i on s . Nar r owing the f rom aid coord i n a t i on to loca l - l eve l conventional gaps that influence both social mobiliza t i on pro g ra m m e s , t o mi c ro - l e vel practices and macro prio ri t i e s influencing macro policy through the req u i r es UNDP to be judiciously strat e g i c d i s s e m i n a t i on of its experience from in lever aging the strengths and experie n c e pilot initiatives at the local level. Its gained on the ground in each country. i n t e rve n t i ons have demon s t rated its Poverty alleviation strategies and the commitment to anti-poverty initiatives attendant micro-macro linkages should and gained it the reputation of being a evolve with changing circumstances that tru s tw o rt h y partner with sincere intentions shape the constraints and opportunities and sound approaches against poverty. available for interventions. For instance, That being said, it is also important m i c ro - l evel anti-pove rty interve n t i on s to re c o g n i ze that the deve l o pment occurring before the outbreak of HIV/ AIDS would have different strategies and priorities than current ones. For its B OX 12: SRI LA N KA – OBSTACLES efforts to influence macro initiatives to TO MAC RO - M I C RO RESOURCE FLOWS be effective, UNDP should continue to In principle UNDP’s seed capital should demonstrate clear understanding of the be re cove red but cannot be be ca u s e issues at the local level. Such advocacy there is no levying of service charges efforts are persuasive only when backed from the users.As a result, this was used by commitment to a country’s anti- for funding certain pro-poor initiatives. p ove rty measure s . D e cades of dire c t The proper source for such irrecoverable funds are the Provincial Councils, which inv o l vement in these South Asian countrie s are vital links in macro to micro resource provides UNDP with credibility and its f l ows. A well functioning PC would de m on s t r able commitment positions it well a rt i c u l ate the co n ce rns of the poor for advocacy efforts in these countries. and see to it that service providers will Such commitment could not have been s e rve the poor without tra n s a ct i o n de m on s t r ated if experience in micro issues costs. But PCs are malfunctioning by had been obtained through the work of being cau g h t up in the per vas i v e pol i t i ca l cu l t u r e of revenge and patr onage in their other donor agencies. Thus UNDP needs i n f ra s t ru ct u re deve l o p m e nt pri o ri t i e s h a n d s - on experience in com mu n i ty - t h at are dete rmined by po l i t i cal and based anti-poverty programmes for it to personal gain co n s i d e rat i o n s, rat h e r become an effective link between micro then by principles of good governance and macro efforts in a given country. and acco u nt a b i l i ty to their pove rty While the country assessments st ri c k en con s t i t u e nt s .In the rur al pol i t i ca l econ o m y so fashioned,it is the com m u n i t y commissioned by the Evaluation Office based organizations empowered not by sought to identify the specific devel o pm e n t elections but by social mobilization that contexts of countries to which UNDP had to be engaged in the task of forging needs to respond, this regional study has the linkages to empower the poor to focused on the common themes and key a c cess re s o u rces ori g i n ating at the l e s s ons emerging from the diffe rent macro level. c on t e x t s . G e n e ral lessons have been 3 8 Source: Hewavithrana 2002. highlighted so as to integrate them into 5 . LESSONS LEARNED

the design of UNDP’s future activities to rights, vulnerabilities to violence and maximize its effectiveness in enhancing corruption etc.) of the poor. The rather micro-macro linkages. m i xed deve l o pments on the pove rty f ront provides a com p e lling case for much greater focus on the following 1 . HOLISTIC APPROACH TO critical issues for meeting the current P OV E RTY ALLEV I ATION FOR challenges in poverty alleviaition: S U S TAINABLE LINKAGES ■ Support to the livelihood strategy of the poor and marginalized Just as pove rty is mu l t i - d i m e n s i on a l , ■ Acceleration of the rate of income- strategies to alleviate poverty and the poverty reduction attendant micro-macro linkages are also ■ I m p rovement in the quality of multi-dimensional. For instance, micro- human development credit, which features prominently in ■ Making devel o p ment more equitable most of the local-level initiatives, derive ■ Strengthening social capital and their life from social mobilization efforts ■ Ach i eving sustained social and and generate local savings that are then political peace. ploughed back into the credit-starved c om munities of the mobilized poor The issue of HIV/AIDS also for entrepreneurial (and consumptive) requires a holistic approach to poverty activities. In some cases, particularly in alleviation as an immediate imperative. B a n g l a d e s h , l o cal credit mobiliza t i on The urgency of the problem is rec o g n i ze d has been successful. For this success to in the UN’s Millennium Development be sustainable, however, it has to be Goals (MDGs). The CCF-I document attended by an expansion of productive points to the need for inter-programme opportunities and market access for the linkages and integration with regard to p roducts pro d u c e d . Thus efforts to this cross-cutting issue. Within the mo b i l i z e capital should build,si mu l t a n e o u s l y, re g i on , on ly in India is HI V / A I D S horizontal linkages for potential markets a l ready a looming pro b l e m , with an and income opportunities to escape the estimated 3.97 mill i on adults and low-equilibrium trap, as well as vertical ch i l d ren affe c t e d . This is not just a relationships. In Nepal the absence of health problem. As mentioned earlier, cr edit insurance as an institutional linkage on the African continent the disease has is likely to prove fatal for credit mobiliza- pr oduced 14 milli o n orphans who will be ti o n schemes in areas affected by conf l i c t . pushed to the ranks of the poor without It is also necessary to ensure that adequate support. Micro-macro links to pro-poor policies in the region, where p romote awareness and disseminate income inequality is among the highest preventive measures are weak in the in the world, emphasize the “poverty South Asian reg i on . Lac k of informa t i o n equivalent growth rate” – i.e. the level of affect both the micro and the macro. economic growth in relation to effects of M a c ro policies on health insura n c e, rising inequality. This is because growth p reve n t i ve public health services and in different sectors of economy may have making HI V / A I D S - related drugs variable impact on poverty reduction. available at affordable prices should Furt h e rm o r e, it is important to rec o g n i z e become responsive to micro-level needs. that pover ty allev i a t i o n in the reg i o n did not Micro-level initiatives are required at significantly improve the non-income the household level towards overcoming in d i c ators (e.g. im mu n i za t i on , po p u l a t i o n the cultural stigma attached to the c on t ro l ,n u t ri t i on ,m a t e rnal health, hu m a n d i s e a s e, w h i ch is preventing affe c t e d 3 9 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

people from mobilizing. SHGs and VOs mi c r o should be seen in terms of provi d i n g that are mobilized for anti-pove rty a new outlook / a p p raisal of existing efforts could serve as instruments to ( m a c ro) deve l o pment practices and combat this cultural stigma. Initiatives institutions – i.e.,UNDP’s interventions to combat HIV/AIDS should have an should add value to the existing anti- explicit place on the agenda of UNDP- poverty efforts. The experiences in Sri supported anti-poverty efforts,including La n k a , Pakistan and even An d h ra development of the capacities of those Pradesh confirm this. As pointed out in already, or at risk of being, affected. the previous section, these interventions coexisted with a plethora of similar measures that in most instances had 2 . FOCUSED PRO G RA M M E S more reach than the UNDP initiatives. SELECTED FOR MAX I M U M These initiatives, while being effective in V I S I B I L I TY AND INFLU E N C E their pover ty allev i a t i o n efforts , fel l short ON MAC RO of altering the outlook of the macro or of lowering the barriers between the micro In the context of limited res o u rc e s ,s u p p o r t and the macro. C onve r s e ly, a well - for micro-level programmes should not executed social mobilization approach lead to mean proliferation of UNDP’s was re l a t i ve ly novel to anti-pove rty inv o l vem e n t . In fact, it becomes essential efforts in Nepal and thus had an positive that programmes be judiciously selected, effect on the macro. not onl y based on their potential to red u c e UNDP could maximize its results local poverty, but also on their visibility on micro - m a c ro links by targeting and effec t i v eness in influencing macro efforts . gr oups that are marginalized in trad i t i on a l Strategic prioritisation that consolidates development practices.In this context, it resources would relieve the burden on needs to identify regional groups that are managerial and administrative personnel so marginalized either because of their and enhance UNDP’s performance. spatial location (e.g. remote areas) and/ The need to consolidate efforts was or their social status (tribals, low-castes, al r eady rec o g n i z ed by CCF-I in India for ultra poor, etc.). in s t a n c e , in reg a r d to overa l l devel o pm e n t as s i s t a n c e . Attempts were made to rep l a c e the plethora of ong oing small initiatives with 3 . P RO G RAMME DESIGN a few holistic and focused programmes. AND IMPLEMENTATION However, in India for instance,CCF-I TO MAXIMIZE MICRO - had 17 sub-programmes under CBPPI M AC RO LINKAG E S with a combined outlay of US$2 million in year 2000 (Country Evaluation: In d i a , ■ Avoid building conflicting parallel EO 2002). While this could well be an st ruc tu re s . When formulating micro- im p r ovement over the previous situation, level programmes, careful attention with such a disparate array of small-scale must be paid to avoid building pro g r ammes it would be difficult to st ru c t u r es of deliver y that are parall e l tra n s f o r m existing micro- m a c r o linkages. to existing one s . For instance, UN D P ’s Prog r ammes should be selected becau s e intervention in Sri Lanka ended up they make a distinctive contribution to cr eating struc t u r es paral lel to existing enhancing micro-macro linkages rather state anti-pove rty initiative s . T h e than duplicate other anti-pover ty efforts . ensuing conflict undermined the Poverty focal points at UNDP Head- chances of success of the UNDP 4 0 quarters concurred that the role of the p ro g ra m m e . A l t e rn a t i ve ly, m i c ro - 5 . LESSONS LEARNED

initiative in Nepal utilized existing designers.One such set of anomalies state institutions of delivery such as stems from the meso-level , as illu s t ra t e d VDC s . This also provided a platform by the dysf u n c t i o nal decenetral i za t i o n for closer interac t i o n between the state in Sri Lan k a . The Provincial Councils, and the programme, which resulted result of a partial decentralization, in enhanced micro-macro linkages. essentially constrained the flow of information and resources between ■ Institutionalize Linkages with the the macro and the micro. State to Improve Micro - M a c ro L i n k a g e . Du ring the opera t i on a l existence of the programme it would 4 . S T RONG STATE OW N E R S H I P be advantageous to establish horiz ont a l OF PRO G RAMMES IMPROV E S and vertical links at various levels, M I C RO - M AC RO LINKAGES with central and state governments, district level administrators, elected Co mmitment at the macro or meso level is officials, private sector, multilateral vital for establishing vibrant links betwe e n and bilateral organizations, NGOs, the micro and the macro. As evident in etc. Such links, and collaboration, both in Andhra Pradesh in India and in i m p rove chances of sustainability Nepal,the governments were committed and bring synergies in partnerships. to the programme. Commitment of the Establishing formal links with state State was demonstrated through direct bodies at different levels that could pa rt i c i p a t i o n and through institutiona l i s i n g be subsequently institution a l i ze d the relationship (e.g. DCCs in Nepal). would be very valuable in improving In both cas e s , the prog r ammes were scal e d m i c ro - m a c ro linkages. In India, up to the meso level. When there was Panchayat Raj Initiatives (PRIs) are ambivalence in the State’s commitment local-level constitutional structures (as in Bangladesh during the later stages mandated with res p o nsibilities for the of the KST project), or when there was design and implementation of a large near hostility at the operational level number of anti-pove rty measure s (as in Sri Lanka), the programmes did and social sector programmes. PRI not succeed, and failed to influence inv o l vement with UNDP prog ra m m e s the macro. has been minimal thus far. However, as mentioned previously, in Nepal the successful SAPAP programme 5 . GENDER MAINSTREAMING established links with Distri c t Development Councils and formed This has emerged as a UNDP priority, District Coordinating Committees as reflected in the St rategic Results that linked the micro-initiative to all Fra m ew o rk (SRF) and themes of line agencies of GON in the Distric t . UNDAF. Poverty alleviation strategies Su b s e q u e n t ly, DCCs became an have to recognize the cleavages among in s t i t u t i on a l i z ed vert i c al and horiz ont a l the poor in general, of which gender is a link for the programme. s i g n i f i cant on e . Social and econ om i c d e p ra v a t i ons along gender lines are ■ Meso Level Constraints have to be particularly important in a region where Re c o gn i s e d . The disconnect betwe e n aggregated data show women to be at the micro and the macro is some t i m e s considerable disadvantage (See Table 7). due to institutional anomalies that are This implies that UNDP-support e d beyond the control of programme community-level interventions that fail 4 1 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

to explicitly recognize this reality run the and political mobility, female literacy, risk of re p roducing and entre n ch i n g widow remarriages, maternal mortality existing gender inequalities. According rates and child marriages. to the Bangladesh study (Akash 2002), To strengthen these efforts UNDP the SAPAP process in Bangladesh was should active ly seek the input of not intended to realign social authority gender experts, as well as relevant state with reference to gender in any of the organizations (e.g. the Department of participating communities. Women and Child Deve l o pment in Yet many macro institutions, from India) when formulating its prog ra m m e s . property laws (restrictions on the right to own property) to family laws (terms of divorce and child support) to national 6 . D I S S E M I N ATING accounting systems (failure to recognize LESSONS IS ESSENTIAL FOR the value of household labour) entrench I M P ROVED LINKAGES gender hierar chy. Households and villa g e - level organizations are embedded in a To foster improved micro- m a c r o linkages, patriarchal framework that supports this UNDP needs to persuasivel y commu n i ca t e hierarchy and sustained, proactive and to the macro policymakers the lessons from skilled efforts are required to identify the its micro-level anti-poverty initiatives. forces and the opportunities involved in C o u n t ry re p o rts point to UNDP’s the struggle against it at both macro and efforts such as dialogues with senior micro levels. This corresponds to the CBPPI experience in India that showed officials involved with a country’s macro that outcomes of gender interventions in i t i a t i ve s , seminars and documenting best were correlated to the “perspectives and practices and experience. These efforts s k i lls of the implementing NGOs” need to be strengthened, intensified and (Country Evaluation: India 2002). extended. For instance, soliciting active The gender hierarchy conditions the su p p o r t from mobilized civil society grou p s information flow from the micro to the that benefited from micro - i n i t i a t i ve s m a c ro. Gender sensitive anti-pove rty would be helpful in strengthening the ef f o r ts could improve micro- m a c r o linkages message to the macro. An exchange of by empowering women stakeholders. A documentation and information could strengthened micro will be in a better be extended beyond national borders position to improve the linkages and within the South Asian region. Annual to influence the macro. M o b i l i zed regional workshops on lessons learned communities could also address cross- regarding micro-macro linkages and a cutting issues of gender through the reg i o nal res e a r ch centre invo l ving reg i on a l activities of their SHGs and VOs. To ex p e r ts to investigate related topics would this effect, SHGs in India, for instance, also cont r ibute towa r ds enhancing micro- could address issues of women’s social macro linkages within the region.

4 2 6. Recommendations ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

Close study of social-mobilisation based ap p ro a c hes to anti-pover ty initiatives antipoverty interventions pursued in the with policy makers and planners, South Asia region and their influence on while supporting such approaches at macro level initiatives point to few broad the micro level. Design of holistic recommendations to strengthen micro- initiatives would reflect: macro linkages. ➧ the need for a multi-dimensional a p p ro a ch in recognizing that ■ U N D P’s social mobiliza t i on pro- the poor are non-monolithic (e.g. g rammes must be designed to to address asym m e t ric gender incorporate in their mandates the relations); and need to impact policyma k i n g , th ro u g h ➧ the need for a flexible and res p on s i v e ad v o ca c y and action throughout their approach in recognition of the life spans. Programmes should have fact that the needs of the poor are built-in components for information dynamic and context dependent tra n s f er to the macro and to influence (e.g. to address the current imper- its trajectory. Even when the size of ative to incorporate attention to the micro initiative is insignificant, HIV/AIDS as a priority of pover- appropriate design and functional ty alleviation). innovations could establish positive micro-macro linkages. ■ Poverty monitoring is critical for evaluating current results and provi d i n g ■ UNDP’s interventions to alleviate fe e d b a ck for future interve n t i on s , poverty at the micro-level must be pa rt i c u l a r ly in the context of tran s l a t i n g demand driven, with representatives the monitoring of progress towards of the stakeholders making explicit the MDGs into changes in policy- requests and demons t r ating comm i t - making.To evaluate micro-macro me n t to the programme. In each li n k a g e s ,m on i t o r ing activities need to country, support must be provided be designed judiciously.Be n ch m a rk i n g for a select few focal programmes and choice of indicators at the micro that can become pilot programmes level must take into account their pr oviding a vision and map for future com p a t i b i l i t y and comp a ra b i l i t y with ma c r o initiatives . Spatial dimensions the national level data. Gi v en the social of economic and social well-being cleavages among the poor, emphasis should be given due attention in should be given to identifying the res o u r ce all o ca t i on ,p roject selections , linkages between those marginalized and programme implementation. at micro level and macro initiatives . For in s t a n c e , gender sensitive moni t o ri n g ■ UN D P ’s existing comp a ra t i v e advan- fra m ew o rk s , with gender disaggreg a t e d tages in pover ty allev i a t i o n interven t i on s indicators are essential to accurately must be nurtured and strengthened evaluate the linkages between micro so that UNDP can serve as one of and macro level poverty alleviation the linkages between micro proc e s s e s initiatives. UNDP has a comparative and macro policies. UNDP should advantage in this area and should c ontinue to disseminate lessons strengthen not only its own poverty for the macro through ex-post m on i t o ring ca p a c i ty at all levels analysis of its own experiences in of interventions, but also national operationalising micro-projects. in s t i t u t i o nal mechanisms to car r y out independent assessment of trends ■ UNDP should continue to advocate and impact of poverty and poverty 4 4 for more holistic and dyn a m i c reduction policies. Annexes ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

ANNEX I: alleviation programmes in terms of their TERMS OF REFERENCE results (outputs and outcomes) – i.e. economic gains to the poor and how As s e s s m e nt of Mi c ro - Ma c ro they addressed the structural and macro- L i n kages in Pove rty Al l ev i at i o n : level policy constraints alluded to above. South As i a The key objective of the pro p o s e d assessment is to examine the outcome of A. Background such efforts in terms of the emergence of The pove rty re d u c t i on strategies in new policy processes and macro-level South Asian countries, as influenced by mechanisms, which were: (i) directed to their past experience, external advisory, re c o g n i t i on and prom o t i on of the financial support and demon s t ra t i on initiatives that enable the poor to fight ef f ects of best practices developed throu g h their own poverty; and (ii) explicitly trial and error in different countries, recognize and address the components have evolved over time. One of the of macro- l e vel policies and struc t u r al issues important changes in poverty alleviation constraining the micro-level initiatives programmes in the region as a whole has for poverty alleviation. Put differently, been the increased emphasis on poverty the study would attempt to see how and a ll ev i a t i on through enabling and to what extent “projects lead the policy”. empowering the poor to contribute to By implicat i on , it would also examine to what their own development, using their own extent macro- l e vel policies were sensitive resources and mobilizing themselves to to micro-level realities and diversities. seek legitimate ri g h t s , re s o u rces and A closer understanding of the services from the State for improving involved micro-macro links in the above their econo mic cond i t i on . This approa ch , co ntext is a central thrust of the prop o s e d once mainstreamed,can radically change desk study.The equally important opera- the poverty alleviation strategies, and ti o nal purpose of the study is to identify UNDP – along with partners – has played wa ys (based on the above understanding) a major role in promoting this change. to strengthen the complementarities and However, the success of such efforts convergence between macro- and micro- was con s t rained by the prev a i l i n g le vel perspectives , policies and prog ra m m e s m a c ro - l evel policies and institution a l for poverty alleviation.The major infor- st ru c t u re s ,w h i c h had complex unfavourab l e mation base for attempting the above implications for such poverty alleviating task is the experience of UNDP and e f f o rts initiated at the micro leve l . other donor agencies in promoting the Apart from the conventional gaps (if “poor-led poverty reduction approaches” not disconnects) between macro-level and their advoca cy at policy leve l s . perspectives and micro-level practices, Assessment studies were commissioned the emerging macro-level policies and in five countries of the re g i on provisions associated with the process of (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and globalisation generate yet another set of Sri Lanka) to assess the outcomes and constraints for micro-level initiatives for impacts of initiatives by UNDP and poverty reduction. In Fe b ru a ry 2002, the UNDP partners, which focused on: E v a l u a t i on Office (EO) launched a (i) C onceptual and methodologica l re g i onal initiative, “Assessment of aspects reflecting on the objectives M a c ro - M i c ro Linkages of Pove rty and processes guiding pove rty Alleviation Interventions in South Asia” a ll ev i a t i on efforts by the UNDP 4 6 to capture the performance of poverty and partners. ANNEX I: TERMS OF REFERENCE

(ii) Assessments of the genera l i ze d Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and any (rather than specific project-based) other relevant documentation such results in terms of social mobilizat i o n as current UNDP policy papers ef f o r ts at local levels and their outcome from the Bureau for Development in terms of sensitisation of higher Policy (BDP), the Regional Bureau level policy processes and decisions; for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP) and (iii) Space and capacities of the poor vis- the World Bank/IMF to analyse, à-vis the dominant power structure, refine and synt h e s i z e key issues aris i n g af f ecting the poor’s access to res o u rc e s out of the country assessments. at community and higher levels; (iv) Re l a t i o nship between micro- c r edit and 2. Develop a structure for the proposed other pover ty allev i a t i o n prog ra m m e s , s ynthesis re p o rt , w h i ch will be with special focus on micro-macro discussed and agreed by EO; linkages; (v) Role and effe c t i veness of major 3. Produce a synthesis re p o rt using national interventions in addressing a p p ro p riate gra phs and tables to structural issues (i.e.,power relations i lluminate key findings, l e s s on s in the social context) and different learned and good practices, as well forms of poverty; as to propose future directions. The (vi) Sen s i t i v i t y of policies and prog ra m m e s synthesis should highlight: to the specificities of the poverty ➧ A critical assessment of poverty si t u a t i o n in the country that determi n e a ll ev i a t i on interve n t i ons with the relevance and effectiveness of special focus on their outcomes in development interventions. terms of changed (or unchanged) links between macro-micro level The broad appro a ch and centra l issues and their analysi s , in cl u d i n g th r ust of the sub-reg i o nal assessment will identification and understanding be to synt h e s i z e key findings of the country of the “outcomes, i.e. impact of assessments that are primarily based on micro-level initiatives on micro- desk study/revi e w of rel e vant prog ra m m e l evel policies and stra t e g i e s ” , documents, strongly supplemented by using the experiences of UNDP interactions with UNDP professionals (and others) at the regional level; and representatives of other agencies, ➧ including NGOs, other donors, relevant I d e n t i f i ca t i on and analysis of government agencies and communities. the main aspects of the above- mentioned linkages; ➧ B. Specific Objectives Assessment of the results of The Consultant will be responsible to U N D P - s u p p o rted pro g ra m m e s EO for the production of a synthesis in particular with special focus on assessment report for South Asia, based its comparative identification of on the five country assessment reports major lessons learned advantage and other relevant information currently vis-à-vis other partners; available on macro-micro linkages. In ➧ I d e n t i f i ca t i on of major lesson s consultation with and under the general learned based on UNDP experi- direction of EO, the Consultant will e n c e s ,e l a b o rating possible cha n g e s undertake the following specific tasks: or new dire c t i ons aimed at enhancing UNDP ca p a c i ty to 1. Undertake review of the five country m o re effe c t i ve ly address the reports (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, poverty alleviation issues. 4 7 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

C. Overall Methodology EO and other related literature; and b) The reg i o nal assessment will supplement con s u l t a t i o ns with rel e vant UNDP officials the analysis gleaned from the country in New York and country offices with assessments with insights from the expertise in diverse areas of poverty- experiences of other donor agencies such related policy and programme design. the Asian Development Bank and the The analysis will focus on a summary of World Bank. In addition, it will be key issues emerging from the country i n f o rmed by pertinent academic and assessments, which provide the primary policy literature in the field of poverty reference documents. They assess the policy assessment. It will also critically influence of micro-level programmes on synthesize the information from the five macro anti-poverty initiatives, including country reports and relevant information the number of macro policies that from other sources, and further refine incorporated lessons from community- the analysis by integrating a wider l evel pove rty all ev i a t i on pro g ra m m e s . perspective from UNDP’s experience. The influence of macro policies on local The analysis of the links between pover ty p ro g ra m m e s , h ow eve r, w i ll not be alleviation efforts at the local (micro) directly measured, but inferred through le vel and macro- l e vel policy regime will be their impact on overall (income) poverty. based on: a) a desk study of the individual The country assessments can be accessed country assessments commissioned by from the EO website.

4 8 ANNEX II: AC RO N Y M S

ANNEX II: AC RO N Y M S

ABGEP Area Based Growth with Equity Programme (Sri Lanka) ADP Area Development Programme (Pakistan) AJK Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan) APDPIP Andhra Pradesh District Poverty Initiatives Project APRPRP Andhra Pradesh Poverty Reduction Project BCLG Building Capacity for Local Governance (Bangladesh) BD Basic Democracies (Pakistan, 1959-70) BDP Bureau for Development Policy (UNDP) BRSP Bureau for Resources and Strategic Partnerships (UNDP) CBO Community Based Organization (Sri Lanka) CBPPI Community Based Pro-Poor Initiatives (India) CCF Country Cooperation Framework (UNDP) CDP Community Development Programme (India, 1952) CEP Community Empowerment Project CLDD Community Livestock and Dairy Development (Bangladesh) DCC District Coordinating Committees (Nepal) DDC District Development Council (Nepal) DFID Department for International Development (U.K.) DPAP Drought Prone Area Programme (India – 70s) FPP Five Point Programme (Pakistan, 1985-88) FPR Framework for Poverty Reduction (Sri Lanka) FPRLG Facilitating Pover ty Reduction through Loc al Gover nance (Bangladesh) GOB Government of Bangladesh GOI Government of India GON Government of Nepal GOP Government of Pakistan GOSL Government of Sri Lanka HDI Human Development Index IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IMR Infant Mortality Rate IRDP Integrated Rural Development Programme (India - 70s) KST Kishoregonj Sadar Thana LGDF Local Governance Development Fund (Bangladesh) LGP Local Governance Programme (Nepal) LIFE Local Initiative Facility for Urban Environment LPPALocal Participation for Poverty Alleviation LPRP Lachi Poverty Reduction Project (Pakistan) MDGs Millennium Development Goals MFAL Marginal Farmers & Agricultural Labour’s Agency (India - 70s) MFO Micro Finance Operations MSHD Sustainable Human Development (Bangladesh) NADP Northern Areas Development Programme (Pakistan) NFEG Nonformal Employment Generation (Bangladesh) NHDR National Human Development Report (UNDP) NILGNational Institute of Local Governance (Bangladesh) NPC National Planning Commission (Nepal) OSG Operations Support Group (UNDP) 4 9 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

NREP National Rural Employment Programme (India - 70s) PA Poverty Alleviation PCDP Pakistan Community Development Project PC Provincial Council (Sri Lanka) PCI Programme of Catalytic Initiatives (PCI) PCRW Production Credit for Rural Women (Nepal) PDDP Participatory District Development Programme (Nepal) PDSNP Public Distrib u t i o n Systems and Nut ri t i o n Prog r amme (India - curren t ) PLUS Prog r amme for the Improvement of Livelihoods in Urban Areas (Pak i s t a n ) PP People’s Programme (Pakistan, 1989-90) PPLGD Promoting Pol i c y on Loc al Gover nance and Decentral i za t i o n (Bangladesh) PRI Panchayat Raj Initiatives (India) PRS Poverty Reduction Strategy and Agenda (Sri Lanka) PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers PWP People’s Work Programme (Pakistan, 1972-82) RBA Regional Bureau for Africa (UNDP) RBAP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (UNDP) RBEC Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (UNDP) RBLA Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNDP) RDP Rural Development Programme (Pakistan) REDP Rural Energy Development Programme (Nepal) RSP Rural Support Programme (Pakistan) RUPP Rural Urban Partnership Programme (Nepal) RWP Rural Works Programme (Pakistan, 1963-72) SAARCSouth Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SAP Social Action Plan (Pakistan, 1993-98, 1998-2002) SAPAP South Asia Poverty Alleviation Program SCDP Sustainable Community Development Programme (Nepal) SDAN Sustainable Development Agenda for Nepal SEDGSocio-Economic Development Group (BDP, UNDP) SEP Self Employment Programmes (India - current) SFDASmall Farmers Development Agency (India – 70s) SFDP Small Farmer Development Project (Nepal) SHG Self Help Groups SIDASwedish International Development Authority SRF Strategic Results Framework SSP Social Security Programme (India - current) TWP Tameer-e-Waten Programme (Pakistan, 1991-93) UNCDF United Nations Capital Development Fund UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework VAP Village Aid Programme (Pakistan, 1952-61) VDCVillage Development Committee VO Village Organization WB World Bank WDG Women’s Development Group WEPWage Employment Programme (India - current) 5 0 WFP World Food Programme ANNEX III: LIST OF DOCUMENTS CO N S U LT E D

ANNEX III: LIST OF Dreze, J. and A. Sen (2002), I n d i a : D O C U M E N TS CO N S U LT E D Development and Participation, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Ahmed, Q.M. (2002) Country Report on M i c ro - M ac ro Linkages in Po verty Dunham, D. and S. Jayasuriya (2000) Alleviation Initiatives: Pakistan, Report “E q u i ty, G rowth and Insurre c t i on : prepared for the Evaluation Office of Liberalization and the Welfare Debate the UNDP,September 2002. in Contemporary Sri Lanka”, Oxford Development Studies, Vol. 28, no. 1, pp. Akash, M.M., (2002) Country Report on M i c ro - M ac ro Linkages in Po verty 99-110. Al l eviation Initiative s : B a n g l ad e s h , E ll e rm a n , David (2002) “R e t h i n k i n g R e p o rt pre p a red for the Evaluation Macro-Micro Linkages: An Approach Office of the UNDP,August 2002. Based on Aut on o my-Respecting Assistance”, Amsden, Alice (2000) Challenges to the paper presented at UNDP workshop West from Late-Industrialising Economies, (see UNDP 2002a). Oxford University Press, 2000. H ew a v i t h a ra n a , B. (2002) C o u n try Aslam Khan, M.( 2 0 0 2 ) , “Social Saf e t y Net” , R e p o rt on Micro - M ac ro Linkages in Pakistan Human Development Report. Poverty Alleviation Initiatives:Sri Lanka, Asian Devel o p ment Bank, (2 0 0 2 ) , Co u n t ry R e p o rt pre p a red for the Evaluation Report – Pakistan. Office of the UNDP,September 2002. Baker, Judy L. (2000), “Evaluating the Jodha, N.S. (2002) Country Report on Impact of Devel o p ment Projects on Pover ty: M i c ro - M ac ro Linkages in Po verty A Hand Book for Practitioners”, World Al l eviation Initiative s : Ne p a l , R e p o rt Bank, Washington D.C. prepared for the Evaluation Office of B ro ck , Ka ren and Rosemary McGee the UNDP, October 2002. ( 2 0 0 2 ) , Knowing Po verty: C ri t i ca l Kabeer,Naila (1995) Revised Realities: Reflections on Participatory Research and G e n d er Hi era rchies in Devel o p m e n t Policy, Eds. K. Brock and R. McGee, Thought, The University Press Limited, Institute for Development Studies, U.K. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bruno, Michael, Martin Ravallion, and Lyn Squire (1998) “Equity and Growth Kanbur,Ravi (2001). “Economic Policy, in Developing Countries: Old and New Distribution and Poverty: The Nature of Pe r s p e c t i ves and Po l i cy Issues”, i n D i s a g re e m e n t s ” . C o rn e ll Unive r s i ty. Income Distribution and Hi g h - Qu a l i ty www.wider.unu.edu Public Lecture, 12 Growth, Ed. Vito Tanzi and Ke-young June 2001. Chu, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. K e l e g a m a , Saman (2001) “Pove rty “Case Study Research In Sri Lan k a : On the Situation and Policy in Sri Lanka”, Asia macro-economics of poverty reduction”, Pacific Forum on Poverty: Reforming Project proposal for Global Thematic Policies and Institutions for Pove rty Fund for pove rty re d u c t i on , RBA P , R e d u c t i on , Asia Deve l o pment Bank, UNDP www.asiapoorpro.net, 2002. Manila, 5-9 February 2001. C e n t ral Bank of Sri La n k a , An n u a l Report, Various Years, Sri Lanka. K e m a l , A . R. ( 2 0 0 2 ) , “ M ac ro - e c o n o m i c Policy and Poverty in Pakistan”, Pakistan Cornia, Giovanni Andrea, Julius Court Human Development Report. (2001) “Inequality, Growth and Poverty in the Era of Libera l i za t i on and Khan, Niazi Mohamed (2002), Public G l o b a l i za t i on” , Po l i cy Brief 4, T h e E x p e n d i tu re Rev i ew from a Po verty United Nations University, WIDER. Perspective. Asian Development Report. 5 1 ASSESSMENT OF MICRO - M AC RO LINKAGES IN POV E RTY ALLEV I AT I O N : SOUTH ASIA

K ri s h n a , An i rudh (2000) “ C h a n g i n g Ou t re a ch (2001): South Asia Po verty Po l i cy and Practice from Below: Al l eviation Pro gra m m e : p o l i cy lessons C om mu n i ty Experiences in Pove rty Emerging in Andhra Pradesh in India, Reduction, An Examination of Nine Report of the Study commissioned by Case Studies”, Ed. Anirudh Krishna, UNDP, India, Hyderabad. C o e d s : Caitlin Wi e s e n , G e o f f rey D. Ranjani, K.M, Raju, K, and Kamath, A. Prewitt, Babar Sobhan, UNDP. (2002): Towards Women’s Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: Lessons from the Kuz n e t s , Sim o n (1955) “Ec on o mic Growth Participatory Impact Assessment of South and Income Inequality ” , Am eri ca n Asian Poverty Alleviation Programme in Economic Review, 45,March 1955, 1-28. Andhra Pradesh, India. Report of the La d e rch i , C a t e rina Ru g g e ri (2001) study commissioned by United Nation’s “Participatory Methods in the Analysis Development Programme. of Poverty: A Critical Review,” Working Rao, Mohan, J. (2002) “The Possibility Paper No. 6 2 ,Q EH Wor king Paper Seri e s , of Pro-Poor Development: Distribution, Oxf o rd , U. K .J a n u a ry 2001. ht t p: / / w w w 2 . Gr owth and Pol i c y Interac t i o n”, pre p a re d q e h . ox . a c . u k / re s e a rch / wp a c t i on . h t m l ? for UNDP. jor_id=216 Ravallion, M, and Gaurav Datt (1999) M a c E w a n ,A rthur (1999) Neo - L i b e ral i s m “When Growth Pro- Po o r ? : E v i d e n c e or Democracy? Economic Strat egy, Ma rk e t s , from the Diverse Experiences of India’s States”. Policy Research Working Paper and Alt erna t i ves for the 21st Centur y. Th e 2263,The World Bank Research Group Un i ve r s i t y Press Limited,Dha k a ,B a n g l a d e s h . on Poverty and Human Resources and M a g u i re, Linda (2002) “ G ove rn a n c e South Asia Region Poverty Reduction and Poverty Alleviation”, EO internal and Econ omic Management Se c t o r report, UNDP. Unit, December 1999. R e d d y,Sa n j ay and T h omas Po g g e Mahendra Dev, S., Ray, S. and Galab, S. (2002) “How Not to Count the Poor”, (2002) Country Report on Micro-Macro ht t p: / / w w w .c o l u m b i a . e d u / ~ s r 7 9 3 / c o u n t . p d f Li n k a g es in Pov erty All e viation Initiatives : In d i a , Re p o r t prep a r ed for the Evaluation R o d ri k , Dani (2001) “The Global Office of the UNDP,September 2002. Governance of Trade as if Development Really Mattered”. UNDP, New York. Ma l i k , Khalid and Wag l e ,Swa r nim (2002) “Civic Engagement and Development: Siddiqui, Kamal (2000), Jagatpur: 1977- Introducing the Issues”, in Capacity for 97 Poverty and Social Change in Rural B a n g l ad e s h , The Unive r s i ty Pre s s D evel o p m e n t : New Solutions to Old Limited, 2000. Pro bl e m s , E d s . Sakiko Fu k u d a - Pa r r, Carlos Lopes, Khalid Malik, pp 85-99. Social Mobiliza t i on Experi m e n t a t i on UNDP, Earthscan Publications Ltd. and Learning Center (SMELC) (2002) Social Mobilisation and Concerns of the M a n a s u ri , G h a za l a . and Vi s w a n a t h , Ultra Poor, A Study based on the Syangla Ta ra (2000) “The District Pove rty Experience. Institute of Agriculture and Initiative Project (DPIP): A Framework Animal Sciences (IAAS), Ra m p u r, for Monitoring and Evaluation – Andra Chitwan, Nepal. Pra d e s h” . Wo rld Bank South Asia Su b ra h m a ny a m , P. ( 2 0 0 2 ) , “A s s e s s i n g Pove rty Mon i t o ring and Evaluation Linkages between Micro-Macro Level Workshop, New Delhi,India,June 8-10, Issues with reference to SAPAP”, paper 2 0 0 0 . h t tp : / / l nw e b 1 8 . w o rl d b a n k . o r g / presented at the workshop on macro- s a r / s a . n s f / At t a ch m e n t s / a p d p i p / $ Fi l e / micro linkages, organized by UNDP, 5 2 apDPIP.pdf 13th February 2002, New Delhi. ANNEX III: LIST OF DOCUMENTS CO N S U LT E D

Taylor,Lance, and Ute Pieper (1996) UNDP (2001f), Gl o ba l i z ation and Hum a n “R e c onciling Econ omic Reform and D evel o p m e n t , Human Deve l o pm e n t Sustainable Human Devel o pm e n t : Soc i a l Report 2001, Oxford University Press. C onsequences of Ne o - L i b e ra l i s m” , UNDP(2000), Programme of Catalytic D i s c u s s i on Paper Se ri e s , Office of Initiatives. Development Studies, UNDP UN D P , UN O P S , NO R AD (1999) So u t h Th om a s , P.V. , (2000) “Impact Assessment Asian Po verty Al l eviation Pro gra m m e : Studies on Ru ral Deve l o pm e n t Report of the Regional Workshop on the Pro g rammes in India” , Wo rld Bank l i n k a ges Between Decentra l i zation and South Asia Pove rty Mon i t o ring and Poverty Alleviation. Ev a l u a t i o n Work s h o p , New Delhi, In d i a , June 8-10,20 0 0 . ht t p: / / l n we b 1 8 . w o r ld b a n k . UNDP (1997) Programme for Improving or g / s a r / s a . n s f / A tt a c hm e n t s / i m p a c t / $ F il e / Livelihoods in Urban Settlement (PLUS), impact.pdf PAK/97/005. UNCTAD(2002) The Least Developed UNDP (1996) Area Development Prog ram m e Countries Report. AJK, PAK/96/005. UNDP (2002a) “Assessing the Linkages UNDP(1996) Area Development Prog ram , between the Micro and Macro Level Balochistan, PAK/96/006. Issues Meeting” , E v a l u a t i on Office, UNDP(1996) Lachi Poverty Reduction New Delhi, India, February 13, 2002. Project, PAK/99/004. U N D P ( 2 0 0 2 b ) , Terms Of R ef ere n c e : UNDP(1996) Nort h e rn Area Develo p m e n t Country Assessment Of Macro And Micro Project (NADP), PAK/96/026. Linkages: South Asia, March 2002. UNDP(1996) Pa k i s tan Community U N D P ( 2 0 0 2 c ) , Terms Of R ef ere n c e : Development Project for Rehabilitation of Assessment Of Macro And Micro Linkages Saline and Water Logged Land. in South Asia, September 2002. Wade, Robert (2001) “Showdown at the UNDP (2002d) C o u n try Eva l u a t i o n : World Bank” New Left Review, No.7, India, Evaluation Office, UNDP. pp.124-137. UNDP(2001a) Po verty Reduction and Wade, Robert (2001) “The US role in Go v erna n c e . Nepal Human Devel o pm e n t the long Asian crisis of 1990-2000” in Report. The East Asian Crisis and Its Aftermath UNDP (2001b) Choices for the Po o r : (Eds.) F. B a t i s t a - R i ve ra and A. Lessons from National Poverty Strategies Luukaislas. London: Edward Elgar. Eds. Alejandro Grinspun. Wahiduddin Mahmud (2001), Informal UNDP (2001c) De velopment Effectiven e s s : Sector in Bangladesh: A Macro Economic Rev i e w of Eva l u a t i ve Evidence, Ev a l u a t i o n Perspective, Report Prepared for ILO, Office, November 2001. Dhaka, May 2001. UNDP (2001d) Overcoming Hu m a n Wor ld Bank,(2 0 0 0 ) , Att acking Pov erty,Worl d Poverty, UNDP Poverty Report 2000. De vel o p ment Report, Was h i n g t on , D.C . UNDP (2001e) Evaluation of the South World Bank, (2001), “A Brief Note on Asian Po verty Al l eviation Pro gra m m e Po verty Estimates for Pa k i s ta n , in the (SAPAP): An overview. 1990s”, Washington D.C. 5 3

ANNEX IV: LIST OF PEOPLE CONSULTED

UNDP National Researchers and Experts, South Asia Nurul Alam, Deputy Director, S.Galab, National Researcher, India Evaluation Office N.S. Jodha, Policy Analyst, International Centre Naoko Anzai, Bangladesh for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal Jean Barut, RBA M.M. Akash, Department of Economics, Stephen Browne, BDP Dhaka University, Bangladesh Sarah Burd-Sharp, NHDR Imtiaz Ahmed, Dhaka University, Bangladesh Neera Burra, Assistant Resident Debapriya Bhattacharya, Centre for Policy Representative, India Development, Bangladesh Michael Constable, OSG S. Behura, Joint Secretary, Department of Khaled Ehsan, Evaluation Adviser, Economic Affairs, Government of India Evaluation Office Samarjit Ray, Principal Secretary, Government Parviz Faratash, RBEC of Andhra Pradesh, India Enrique Ganuza, RBLA Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Principal Secretary to the Selim Jahan, BDP Prime Minister, Government of Bangladesh Zahir Jamal, RBAS K. Raju , CEO, SERP, India Henning Karcher, Resident S. Mahendra Dev, National Researcher, India Representative, Nepal Narendra Singh Sisodia, Additional Secretary, Asoka Kasturiarachchi, Assistant Cabinet Secretariat, India Resident Representative, Sri Lanka Ratna Sudarshan, National Researcher, India Shoaib Sultan Khan, Senior Policy Mohamed Farook, Asst. Director, Ministry of Adviser, SAPAP, Pakistan Atolls Administration, Maldives K.Seeta Prabhu, Head Human Jay Singh Shah, Director, SMELC, Nepal Development Resource Centre, India Lokendra Paudyal, National Researcher, Nepal Kamal Malhotra, BDP Khadija Haq, National Researcher, Pakistan Khalid Malik, Director, Evaluation Office David Ellerman, World Bank, USA Brenda Gael McSweeney, Resident Dr. Qazi Masood Ahmed, National Researcher, Representative, India Pakistan Kalyani Menon-Sen, India Buddhadasa Hewavitharana, National Balasubramaniam Murali, RBAP Researcher, Sri Lanka Subinay Nandy, RBAP Hafiz Pasha, Assistant Administrator & Director, RBAP Subrahmanyam Ponthagunta, Nepal Abdulla Rasheed, Maldives Siv Tokle, Evaluation Adviser, Evaluation Office Caitlin Weisin, BRSP Zhe Yang, RBAP Onder Yucer, Resident Representative, Pakistan

54 ANNEX V: LIST OF FIGURES AND TA B L E S

ANNEX V: LIST OF FIGURES AND TA B L E S

List of Fi g u re s Figure 1: Selected South Asian Economies – GDP Growth Rates (percent) Figure 2: Fiscal Deficit, South Asian Countries, 1996-2002 Figure 3: Changes in Inequality: Gini Index Figure 4: Trends in Human Development Index

List of Ta b l e s Table 1: Country Profile Table 2: Profiles of Poverty and Inequality Table 3: Growth Rate Table 4:The Conc e r n and Focus on Pover ty in Nep a l : Sel e c t i v e Indicators of Evolution Table 5: Impact of the Macro Policy Environment on Poverty and Inequality Table 6: Poverty Alleviation Projects in the Country Reports

5 5 UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Evaluation Office United Nations Development Programme One United Nations Plaza New York,NY 10017,USA Tel.(212) 906 5095, Fax (212) 906 6008 Internet: http://intra.undp.org.eo or http://www.undp.org/eo