Global Poverty Reduction: Institutions and Policy
About
BWPI is involved in research on four particular areas within this theme:
Chronic Poverty
This area of research is undertaken in conjunction with the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC).
CPRC is an international partnership of universities, research institutes and NGOs established in 2000 with initial funding from the UK's Department for International Development. Its central aim is to create knowledge that contributes to both the speed and quality of poverty reduction, with a focus on assisting those who are trapped in poverty, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
BWPI researchers contributed to 'The Chronic Poverty Report 2008-2009: Escaping Poverty Traps', (2008) which is an important publication on this topic (see link to report below). The report identifies five main traps that underpin chronic poverty – insecurity, limited citizenship, spatial disadvantage, social discrimination and poor work opportunities – and outlines key policy responses to these.
The Millennium Development Goals
BWPI is involved in projects examining various aspects of international aid, poverty reduction and the MDGs. David Hulme in particular has undertaken extensive research into the MDGs. This has focused on assessing the contribution the MDGs have made to tackling global poverty and to furthering the emergence of a global social norm that sees extreme poverty in an affluent world as morally unacceptable. A number of key publications on this theme are listed below.
The emerging middle powers 'Beyond the BICs'
Over recent years increasing attention has been focused on the ‘rising powers’ – that is, large developing countries with growing economic power. Most attention has been directed towards Brazil, India and China (often referred to as the BICs). However, there is also a second tier of countries that are emerging to a more prominent global position. These emerging middle powers ‘beyond the BICs’ will have a critical impact on global policy-making in coming decades.
This ESRC-funded research network draws together policy specialists, business analysts and scholars from several disciplines to examine the phenomenon of emerging middle powers beyond the BICs; identify which countries fall into this category; and assess how their emergence will impact on global poverty reduction.
More information on this project at BWPI.
It has a dedicated website here.
Trade, the WTO and global poverty
This research theme focuses on the international trade structure, especially the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and its impact on poverty. It examines the historical evolution of the post-war trade system and how this has served to marginalise the interests of developing countries, and the legacy of this evolution for the present day. It also focuses on the current round of trade negotiations being undertaken within the WTO, the Doha Development Agenda, and the degree to which it is delivering a pro-poor outcome.
Current projects within this theme include:
- an examination of China in the WTO (funded by a Henry Luce Foundation Award, through the University of Indiana’s Initiative on China and Governance); and
- an examination of the prospects of South-South trade generating economic development and poverty reduction, through a case-study of the Global System of Trade Preferences Among Developing Countries.
People
Key people working on this theme include:
Key publications
- 'Global Poverty (Global Institutions)'. David Hulme (London: Routledge, May 2010).
- ‘The Poverty of the Doha Round and the Least Developed Countries’, James Scott and Rorden Wilkinson, Third World Quarterly, 32(4), 2011.
- 'Global governance, poverty and inequality'. Edited by Rorden Wilkinson and Jennifer Clapp. (London: Routledge, May 2010).
- 'Just Give Money to the Poor: The Development Revolution from the Global South'. Joseph Hanlon, Armando Barrientos and David Hulme (Kumarian Press, April 2010).
- 'Concluding the Doha Round: What’s going on at the WTO and why it’s unlikely to help the world’s poorest' (Rorden Wilkinson - 'development@manchester' Research Note 2).
- 'The WTO: Crisis and the Governance of Global Trade'. Rorden Wilkinson (London: Routledge, 2006).
- 'The Chronic Poverty Report 2008-2009: Escaping Poverty Traps', (2008), with the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC). Available for download from the CPRC website.
- 'The WTO after Hong Kong: Progress in, and prospects for, the Doha Development Agenda'. Edited by Donna Lee and Rorden Wilkinson. (London: Routledge, 2007).
- Encyclopedia of Governance (Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2007). Rorden Wilkinson (associate editor, Mark Bevir editor). Winner of the Library Journal Best Reference award 2007.
- 'Developing country participation in the GATT: a reassessment', Rorden Wilkinson and James Scott, World Trade Review, 7(2), July 2008.
Selected BWPI Working Papers in this theme
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): A Short History of the World’s Biggest Promise (David Hulme).
International Norm Dynamics and ‘the End of Poverty’: Understanding the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and David Hulme).
The making of the Millennium Development Goals: human development meets results-based management in an imperfect world (David Hulme).
South-South Trade and North-South Politics: Emerging powers and the reconfiguration of global governance (James Scott).
A full list of BWPI publications can be found here.