TEN PERCENT SUMMARY

Our analysis
shows the dynamic nature of ideas about poverty at both the
transnational and
national levels, as well as the impact of the WB and the OECD on
these changing
ideas and policy processes. This is true because stressing the
changing nature of IO ideas
4 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1
enhances our understanding of country-level policy change (Be´land
& Orenstein,
2013). Second, the United Nations adopted the fourth development
decade
strategy focusing on poverty alleviation, which coincided with the shift
in the
WB’s perspective on poverty. Similar to the UN’s human
development report,
the WB’s 1990 and 2000/2001 World Development Reports (WDRs)
focused
extensively on human development and the challenge of poverty
alleviation
around the world. Third, starting in 2000, the
initiation and the successive adoption of the Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers
(PRSPs) by developing countries further pushed the issue of global
poverty on
national policy agendas. However,
the deteriorating effect of structural adjustment programs on social
development
exposed the WB and its neoliberal policy ideas to intense criticism,
especially
8 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1
from the United Nations and its agencies such as the Children’s Fund
(UNICEF),
the Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as well as
the International Labour Organization (ILO). 97), the OECD spreads
“shared knowledge structures and ideas,
promoting converging views as to how policy problems ought to be
confronted.”
Fundamentally, the Development Centre serves as the OECD’s
mouthpiece in
diffusing its policy ideas through the contribution of expert analysis to
the
development debate in a bid to assist decision makers in identifying
viable policy
alternatives and in stimulating economic growth and social well-
being. As development partners, the OECD’s involvement in
SSA to promote poverty eradication and development intensified
from the 1990s
with the adoption of the policy blueprint “Shaping the Twenty-First
Century: The
Contribution of Development Cooperation,” which outlined guidelines
toward
the effective promotion of economic transformation within developing
countries
using the mechanism of measurable objectives (OECD, 2001b).
Expanding the 1970s definition of absolute
poverty, the 1980 WDR introduced human development as a
mechanism toward
poverty alleviation. With the influence of the
capability approach, the WB’s position on poverty in the 1990s
expanded to
encompass both qualitative (non-monetary) and quantitative
(monetary) aspects
of poverty, though the organization seemed to focus mainly on the
money-metric
aspects of poverty. Motivated by this, the WB conducted
“Consultations
with the Poor,” a study that aimed to generate conceptions of poverty
from the
perspective of the poor and to assimilate this perspective into poverty
policies in
various countries. In his study about poverty in Nigeria, Osinubi
(2003) showed the
extent to which the Bank’s perspective of poverty in the 1980s had
shaped the
criteria for assessing poverty levels in Nigeria around the time. In a
similar vein, subsequent to the 1995 United Nations
Summit on Social Development and the Copenhagen Declaration—
where world
leaders committed to set measurable, time-bound targets toward
poverty reduction—various SSA countries made significant changes
to their development
policies. These changes emphasized the interdependence of
economic and social
development, and consequently made poverty reduction a prominent
part of
development policies in developing countries in accordance with the
commitment
made at this summit. In pursuance of this resolve,
he created the Ministry of Community Development and Social
Services to
coordinate poverty reduction programs and policies and to formulate
plans with
the objective of reducing poverty. Therefore, in designing the Highly
Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) initiative to provide debt relief to poor countries, the WB/IMF
linked
14 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1
HIPC to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, whose preparation
had to follow
a participatory approach. Apart from broadly framing poverty to
comprise income and non-income aspects through their studies and
reports, IOs
(and particularly the WB through its Voices of the Poor project)
describe poverty
as what the poor say it is. In Kenya, for instance, there was a
16 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1
gradual shift from a consumption- and income-based conception of
poverty to
one that includes other non-income aspects such as dignity and
capability
(Kimalu, Nafula, Manda, Mwabu, & Kimenyi, 2002). Through
their involvement in policy formulation, development partners could
influence
conceptions of development and poverty, which subsequently
become policies. The article has also
Foli/Be´land: International Organizations and Ideas 17
shown that IO ideas about poverty are gradually changing over time,
which
points to the fact that, at the ideational level, IOs are more flexible
than the
traditional policy literature tends to suggest (on this issue, see Be
´land &
Orenstein, 2013). First, the above analysis does not offer an
in-depth, country-specific analysis of the involvement of IOs in the
development of
domestic policy ideas and programs about poverty.

FIVE PERCENT
Second, the United Nations adopted the fourth development decade
strategy focusing on poverty alleviation, which coincided with the shift
in the
WB’s perspective on poverty. Similar to the UN’s human
development report,
the WB’s 1990 and 2000/2001 World Development Reports (WDRs)
focused
extensively on human development and the challenge of poverty
alleviation
around the world. Third, starting in 2000, the
initiation and the successive adoption of the Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers
(PRSPs) by developing countries further pushed the issue of global
poverty on
national policy agendas. However,
the deteriorating effect of structural adjustment programs on social
development
exposed the WB and its neoliberal policy ideas to intense criticism,
especially
8 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1
from the United Nations and its agencies such as the Children’s Fund
(UNICEF),
the Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as well as
the International Labour Organization (ILO). As development
partners, the OECD’s involvement in
SSA to promote poverty eradication and development intensified
from the 1990s
with the adoption of the policy blueprint "Shaping the Twenty-First
Century: The
Contribution of Development Cooperation," which outlined guidelines
toward
the effective promotion of economic transformation within developing
countries
using the mechanism of measurable objectives (OECD, 2001b). With
the influence of the
capability approach, the WB’s position on poverty in the 1990s
expanded to
encompass both qualitative (non-monetary) and quantitative
(monetary) aspects
of poverty, though the organization seemed to focus mainly on the
money-metric
aspects of poverty. In his study about poverty in Nigeria, Osinubi
(2003) showed the
extent to which the Bank’s perspective of poverty in the 1980s had
shaped the
criteria for assessing poverty levels in Nigeria around the time. These
changes emphasized the interdependence of economic and social
development, and consequently made poverty reduction a prominent
part of
development policies in developing countries in accordance with the
commitment
made at this summit. Therefore, in designing the Highly Indebted
Poor Countries
(HIPC) initiative to provide debt relief to poor countries, the WB/IMF
linked
14 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1
HIPC to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, whose preparation
had to follow
a participatory approach. In Kenya, for instance, there was a
16 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1
gradual shift from a consumption- and income-based conception of
poverty to
one that includes other non-income aspects such as dignity and
capability
(Kimalu, Nafula, Manda, Mwabu, & Kimenyi, 2002).

90 PERCENT OFF

6, No. 1, 2014 International Organizations and Ideas About Poverty 
in Sub-Saharan Africa Rosina Foli and Daniel Be´land Johnson-
Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchew
an campus, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada This study explores 
how international organizations shape ideas about poverty and antip
overty policymaking in sub-Saharan Africa.

As the OECD's guidelines on poverty reduction suggest,
"Different ways of understanding poverty lead to different ways of d
ealing with it".

6 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1 Thomas pointed out that ideas about 
poverty and, subsequently, the strategies put in place to deal with it
, have been dynamic.

In the mid-eighteenth century, Adam Smith conceptualized poverty 
as social isolation and inferiority two centuries later, poverty was inc
reasingly defined in relative terms, typically based on a measure of 
per capita income.

The process began with the now widely debated contrast between a
bsolute poverty and relative poverty.

Second, the United Nations adopted the fourth development decade 
strategy focusing on poverty alleviation, which coincided with the sh
ift in the WB's perspective on poverty.

Third, starting in 2000, the initiation and the successive adoption of 
the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers by developing countries furth
er pushed the issue of global poverty on national policy agendas.

Recent 
8 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1 social protests, such as the Arab Sprin
g2 and the Occupy Movement, have further stressed popular discont
ent related to poverty and inequality.

According to Stein, the Bank's focus on poverty in the 1960s was in
spired by the United States'
"War on poverty." Most of its relationships with SSA countries at the 
time were explicitly based on pro-market ideas prescribing liberal po
licies as a way to support the countries during hard times, such as e
conomic crises.

Changing Ideas About Poverty As noted above, the idea of who cou
nts as "Poor" or what poverty is has been dynamic.

These paradigms include, first, the income perspective that defines 
poverty based on an established poverty line.

Without directly providing a description of relative poverty,4 the 19
78 and 1979 WDRs are based on the income conception of absolute 
poverty and thereby stress accelerated growth, improvement in inco
me distribution, and fertility reduction as key mechanisms for eradic
ating absolute poverty, which were in line with the general trend of 
thought at the time.

Expanding the 1970s definition of absolute poverty, the 1980 WDR i
ntroduced human development as a mechanism toward poverty alle
viation.

From the 1990s on, shifts in academic discourse on poverty led by S
en introduced the idea of capability deprivation as a way of concept
ualizing poverty.
With the influence of the capability approach, the WB's position on p
overty in the 1990s expanded to encompass both qualitative and qu
antitative aspects of poverty, though the organization seemed to foc
us mainly on the money-metric aspects of poverty.

Amidst the dynamic nature of ideas about poverty, it was surmised 
that effective poverty reduction policies are probably those that wer
e derived from the "Experiences, reflections, aspirations, and prioriti
es of the poor people themselves".

While earlier reports failed to mention explicitly social exclusion as a 
dimension of poverty, by the 2000s social exclusion and discriminati
on were understood as key aspects of poverty.

In his study about poverty in Nigeria, Osinubi showed the extent to 
which the Bank's perspective of poverty in the 1980s had shaped th
e criteria for assessing poverty levels in Nigeria around the time.

South Africa's post-apartheid government adopted a radical move a
way from its socialist approach to dealing with the problem of pover
ty to a promarket approach as a result of the influence of global disc
ourse mediated by agencies like the WB. For instance, Peet identifie
d that WB personnel were part of the government teams that develo
ped the economic policies for the nation, which increasingly caused 
the government to move away from its earlier rhetoric of nationaliza
tion and redistribution to policies that sought to promote an open m
arket.

In pursuance of this resolve, he created the Ministry of Community 
Development and Social Services to coordinate poverty reduction pr
ograms and policies and to formulate plans with the objective of red
ucing poverty.

The 2000/2001 WDR of the World Bank notes, regarding the framin
g of the poverty reduction strategy,
"The priorities cannot be set in the abstract. They must fit the conte
xt and reflect a broad national consensus." Consequently, the formu
lation of poverty reduction policies in various developing countries w
as diversified to include constituencies distinct from government act
ors and development partners.

Apart from operating through CSOs, IOs also play a more direct role 
as partners and consultants in the 
16 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1 policy formulation process.

Apart from broadly framing poverty to comprise income and non-
income aspects through their studies and reports, IOs describe pove
rty as what the poor say it is.

Although the poverty-line/consumption-based measure was not aba
ndoned, several SSA countries' poverty reduction strategy documen
ts broadened the conception of poverty by introducing additional var
iables.

The Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy I document defines poverty t
o include "Unacceptable physiological and social deprivation", which 
coincided with the WB's perspective at the time.5 Likewise, in Zamb
ia, there has been a shift in focus from income poverty, which was d
ominant during the era of structural adjustment, to a multidimensio
nal vision of poverty.

The article has also 
18 Poverty & Public Policy, 6:1 shown that IO ideas about poverty a
re gradually changing over time, which points to the fact that, at th
e ideational level, IOs are more flexible than the traditional policy lit
erature tends to suggest.

Dakar: CODESRIA. Amoako-Tuffour, J. "Public consultations, bureac
rats and development partners in Ghana's poverty reduction strateg
y." In J. Amoako-Tuffour & B. B. Armah, Poverty reduction strategie
s in action: Perspectives and lessons from Ghana.