Assessment of Micro-Macro Linkages in Poverty Alleviation: South Asia Assessment of Micro-Macro Linkages in Poverty Alleviation: South Asia
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Un i ted Nations Deve l o p m e nt Prog ra m m e Eva l u ation Of f i ce Assessment of Micro-Macro Linkages in Poverty Alleviation: South Asia Assessment of Micro-Macro Linkages in Poverty Alleviation: South Asia 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. Copyright © 2003 United Nations Development Programme Evaluation Office One United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA www.undp.org/eo 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.