Pro-poor politics

Dr Heather Marquette & Chipiliro Kalebe-Nyamongo, Development Politics 28 February 2012

Structure of today's sessionWhat is ‘pro-poor politics’?

Moore & Putzel’s ‘Thinking Strategically About Politics and Poverty’

Pro-poor politics from the bottom up

Pro-poor politics from the top down (CASE STUDY: Malawi)

Three levels of analysis (always remember this!)

Always remember this!!

Local

National

Global

Think globally, act locally!

Importance of discourse for poverty and politicsCharles Booth and his poverty maps‘Deserving’ vs. ‘undeserving’ poor

What is ‘pro-poor politics’?Phrase coined by who? When?

To best of my knowledge, it was ODI in the late 1990s writing about ‘pro-poor tourism’

Few academics or policymakers define it but implies:Politics that prioritises the poorPolitics that enhances the poor’s capabilities (economic and social, as well as political)

Has found some purchase in the academic literature (although how deep this is is questionable)

Fits well with post-modern literature/critical modernist/etc.

Moore & Putzel’s paper• Has had a massive impact on policymakers (and, to

a lesser degree, on academics)• Made it possible to engage more constructively with

politics from a poverty reduction perspective• Demonstrates the need for:• critical engagement on politics that doesn’t see it simply

as a problem or ‘messy’• dealing with assumptions/misconceptions about the role

that democracy can/cannot play• better/more political analysis

Moore & Putzel’s main contributions• Table 1: Types of States, Politics and Poverty

• Five key propositions

• Democracy has differential outcomes for the poor• States create and shape the political opportunities for the poor• There is no reason to expect that decentralisation will be pro-poor• There are a wide range of possibilities for pro-poor political

alliances• Many of the policies needed to improve governance will benefit

the poor

Pro-poor politics from the bottom up

How do the poor engage in politics?Social movements Populist movements (the poor provide support but are led by professionals, intellectuals & the urban middle classes)Participation in local governance/government

BRAINSTORM: What prevents the poor from engaging (effectively)?

Policy Spotlight: (Conditional) Cash Transfers (CTs/CCTs)

What are CTs/CCTs?Cash Transfers (CTs)

Help the poor to meet immediate income needsHelp put cash into the local economy, hopefully stimulating growthHelp to empower the poor

Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs)Come with conditions attached in order to support particular activities/behavioural changesOften includes things like getting children into school, visiting health clinics, vaccinations, etc.Wide-spread use, both by national governments and donors

For more information on ‘The Politics of CCTs in Latin America’, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68V1PKPddQg (on WebCT)

Are CCTs the future of pro-poor policy in developing countries? Criticisms of CTs/CCTs:

Targeting process is difficult, leading to exclusion of some poor groups Distrust in government Donor-dependent/lack of sustainability CCTs in particular don’t let the poor choose their own priorities (how empowering is this?) Risk of corruption Elite attitudes

We’ll come back to this after the case study…

Pro-poor politics from the top down - CASE STUDY: MalawiA Focus on elite: definition Why elites? Power, Control and InfluenceWhat is the role of elites in politics/policy-making? Two arguments exist:

Exclusion of elites from poverty-focused research and policy, why?Realists and public choice theory argumentsThe democratic principle argumentIdeological and normative arguments

Some facts on Malawi

Elite attitudes towards poverty Why do elite attitudes matter?:

- Historical arguments/ Welfare State Assumptions: 1a: The more acutely elites perceive the poor as a threat, the more ready they

will be to consider an improvement of the life conditions of the poor1b: The more opportunities the elites perceive they will benefit personally from

reducing poverty, the more ready the elites will be to consider an improvement of the life conditions of the poor

1c: The fewer consequences the persistence of poverty is perceived to have for the elites and their station in life, the less the elites will be ready to consider an improvement of the life conditions of the poor

2. The more feasible elites consider an improvement of the life conditions of the poor, the more willing the elites will be to consider reform measures towards that end

3. The more the elites are willing to consider improvement in the life conditions of the poor, the more likely it is that actual reforms that are pro-poor in nature will be implemented

New focus on elites and pro-poor politics Why?

Overemphasis on technical aspects of poverty Anti-political nature of poverty research Politician-proof policies

What is the hope? That (elite) perceptions are not fixed Reframing the conceptualisation of poverty

Evidence from Malawi Study Subjects: Ministers, Member of parliament,

Principal Secretaries, Leaders of CSO’, NGO’, Media Organizations, Some Donor agencies

The sort of questions asked: How Malawian elites perceive poverty and the poor Why and how poverty represents a problem to

elites in Malawi Ways in which Malawian elites perceive that

something can be done about poverty

Some preliminary findings

Politics as pro-poor (global) citizen actionDiscourse has changed at the global level as well

This changes how we see/understand politicsThis changes how we engage with politics

Make Poverty HistoryIn My Name - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRyMxSS-KI0

But it can change at global level too…Is development that’s about national security (i.e., soft power) pro-poor?