Tackling rural poverty, together

Extract

The Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) approach consists of a series of process innovations designed to encourage broader-based participation in the development of a country-owned, long-term strategy for growth and poverty reduction which could also be a framework for coordinating donor support. It was accompanied by a transformation of the IMF’s concessional lending facility into the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). It is too early to evaluate the success of the new approach in achieving its longer-term objectives, especially the extent of reduction of poverty; progress in this dimension will become evident only over a longer period of time. The evaluation has, therefore, focused on intermediate stage outcomes, i.e., the quality of the broader-based policy formulation process, the nature of the strategy and policy framework that has evolved the interaction between this framework and the PRGF, and the effectiveness of the IMF’s role.
Table of contents:
I.                    Introduction: Origin and Objectives of the PRSP and the PRGF and Scope of the Evaluation
II.                  Implementation of the PRS Approach in Areas Relevant to the IMF Mandate
III.                Joint Staff Assessments IV. PRGF-Supported Program Design
IV.                The IMF’s Way of Doing Business
V.                 Is the New Approach Making a Difference?