World Bank Operations Evaluation DepartmentIMF Independent Evaluation Office2012-06-062012-06-062005-01-010-8213-6219-4https://hdl.handle.net/10986/7209This book provides an independent assessment of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Initiative for the World Bank as well as the broader development community. It offers a in-depth review of the progress thus far, with particular focus on the role and effectiveness of the Bank's support, drawing from extensive discussions with national stakeholders in Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP) countries, research and analytical work, and country case study reports on ten PRSP countries: Albania, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and Vietnam. The author of The Poverty Reduction Strategy Initiative concludes that the Initiative has led to improvements in national strategies and processes in some low-income countries, such as an increased poverty focus, a higher profile for monitoring results, and better donor-government dialogue. However, the contribution to broad poverty reduction, especially in more difficult country environments, is largely in jeopardy without significant changes. The author argues that the Initiative should be reoriented toward improving domestic processes and less on completion of documents, customizing the approach to particular country circumstances, filling analytical gaps to better understand which actions will provide the greatest poverty pay-off, and making sure the assistance programs of external partners are anchored in the country's poverty reduction strategy.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYADJUSTMENT LENDINGAID EFFECTIVENESSCAPACITY ENHANCEMENTCASCIVIL SOCIETYCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORKCONCESSIONAL LENDINGCOST-EFFECTIVENESSCOUNTRY ASSISTANCE STRATEGIESCOUNTRY CASECOUNTRY LEADERSHIPCOUNTRY LEVELDATA QUALITYDATA REQUIREMENTSDEBTDEBT RELIEFDECENTRALIZATIONDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT OUTCOMESDIMENSIONAL NATURE OF POVERTYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTEVALUATION CAPACITYFLEXIBILITYGDPGROWTH POLICIESHEADCOUNT INDEXHEAVILY INDEBTED POOR COUNTRIESHIPCIMPACT ASSESSMENTINCOMEINCOME POVERTYINTERMEDIATE INDICATORSINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GOALSLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESMACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORKMIDDLE EASTNGONONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONSPEER REVIEWPERFORMANCE MONITORINGPOLICY DOCUMENTSPOLICY OPTIONSPOLICY PAPERSPOVERTY ASSESSMENTPOVERTY ASSESSMENTSPOVERTY HEADCOUNTPOVERTY HEADCOUNT INDEXPOVERTY IMPACTPOVERTY OUTCOMESPOVERTY REDUCTIONPOVERTY REDUCTION EFFORTSPOVERTY REDUCTION IMPACTPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIESPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGYPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPERPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPERSPROGRAMSPUBLIC ACTIONSPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC EXPENDITURESPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC SECTORREDUCING POVERTYRURAL DEVELOPMENTSHORT TERMSOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTSSOCIAL PROGRAMSSTAKEHOLDER WORKSHOPSSTRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENTSTRUCTURAL REFORMSSUB-SAHARAN AFRICASUBSIDIARYSUSTAINABLE POVERTYSUSTAINABLE POVERTY REDUCTIONTRANSPARENCYUNDERSTANDING OF POVERTYWELL-BEINGWorld Bankhttps://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-6219-4