Evaluation and Poverty Reduction

by Feinstein,Osvaldo N.

• ISBN13: 9780765800923
• ISBN10: 0765800926
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-05-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In his foreword, the president of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn, states plainly and precisely the rationale for this volume. "Evaluation is a central aspect of any poverty reduction endeavor. Evaluation implies that we have adopted a methodology that allows us to look in an effective way at the results of what we are doing so that we can, in turn, adapt our future actions toward the effective achievement of our goals. Evaluation adds value if we can learn something useful from it. It is not just a scorecard. It is something that helps us change our behavior or influence the behavior of others." This high powered collection of papers illustrates this statement. The network of world class scholars and development practitioners covers the gamut from methodological issues to policy concerns with respect to participatory evaluation, poverty reducing growth, macro and micro levels of intervention, health, nutrition and population programs, social inclusion and the changing role of the civil society. The participants include major figures, including a Nobel Laureate as well as cutting edge policy makers. Poverty reduction is examined in innovative ways-utilizing state of the art techniques of the social and economic sciences. The editors and contributors emphasize "what works" in poverty reduction programs. They point to making interventions context specific with a holistic vision of the problem. Contributors emphasize social funds and safety nets, social services, crisis prevention, informal social security and insurance systems, anti-corruption programs, mobilization of the poor, and ultimately, the creation, where none existed in the past, of a workable civil society. In short, this volume lies at the intersection of development economics and political economy. It seeks to promote development effectiveness through social learning and problem solving. The volume is unabashedly focussed on pro-poor growth. It has its roots in a conference sponsored by the Operations Evaluation Department, an independent unit within the World Bank. The goals of evaluation are to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank's work, and to provide accountability in the achievement of its objectives. Osvaldo N. Feinstein is a manager, and Robert Picciotto, director general of the Operations Evaluation Department. The World Bank is located in Washington, D.C. with offices throughout the developing world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Foreword	ix
James D. Wolfensohn
Welcome Addresses	xiii
Jan Piercy
Elizabeth McAllister
Part I: Introduction: Identifying the Challenges
Synthesis and Overview	3	(16)
Osvaldo Feinstein
Detlev Puetz
Part II: Evaluation: A Macro Perspective
Valuation and Evaluation	19	(20)
Partha Dasgupta
Floor Discussion	36	(3)
Evaluation in a World of Complexity and Information Failures	39	(12)
Joseph Stiglitz
Floor Discussion	49	(2)
Panel Discussion: Evaluation Perspectives on Poverty Reduction	51	(14)
Vinod Thomas
Alison Evans
Moise Mensah
Niels Dabelstein
Floor Discussion	58	(7)
Part III: Methodological Issues in Evaluation
Impact Evaluation: Concepts and Methods	65	(24)
Kene Ezemenari
Anders Rudqvist
Kalanidhi Subbarao
Comments	76	(9)
Thomas Cook
James Heckman
Floor Discussion	85	(4)
Panel Discussion: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Evaluation	89	(14)
Timothy Marchant
Sarah Gavian
John Eriksson
Floor Discussion	101	(2)
Theory-Based Evaluation: Theories of Change for Poverty Reduction Programs	103	(12)
Carol H. Weiss
Part IV: Participatory Evaluation: Costs and Benefits
The Front-End Costs and Downstream Benefits of Participatory Evaluation	115	(18)
Edward T. Jackson
Comments	127	(4)
Nicoletta Stame
Floor Discussion	131	(2)
Building Local Capacity for Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation	133	(18)
Rolf Sartorious
Comments	144	(3)
David Marsden
Floor Discussion	147	(4)
Part V: Poverty-Reducing Growth
Africa and Asia: Evaluation of the Poverty Alleviation Impact of Alternative Development Strategies and Adjustment Responses	151	(20)
Erik Thorbecke
Comments	163	(3)
Richard Gerster
Floor Discussion	166	(5)
Lessons Learned from Evaluation of DFID's Aid Program	171	(22)
Andrew Shepherd
Comments	184	(3)
Octavio Damiani
Floor Discussion	187	(6)
Part VI: Sectoral and Microlevel Interventions
Evaluating Microfinance's Impact: Going Down Market	193	(16)
Monique Cohen
Comments	204	(5)
Mohini Malhotra
Evaluating Targeted Versus Nontargeted Approaches to Poverty Reduction	209	(14)
Joachim von Braun
Mona Bishay
Sohail J. Malik
Floor Discussion	218	(5)
Part VII: Social Funds and Safety Nets
What Are Social Funds Really Telling Us?	223	(12)
Judith Tendler
Comments	228	(3)
Soniya Carvalho
Floor Discussion	231	(4)
Economic Crises and Social Protection for the Poor: The Latin American Experience	235	(18)
Nora Lustig
Arianna Legovini
Comments	246	(2)
Raghav Gaiha
Floor Discussion	248	(5)
Part VIII: Development Effectiveness in Health, Nutrition, and Population Services
Delivering Social Services: Lessons on Health, Nutrition, and Population	253	(18)
Susan Stout
Comments	264	(2)
Margaret Goodman
Floor Discussion	266	(5)
Part IX: Crisis Prevention
Tackling Horizontal Inequalities	271	(18)
Frances Stewart
Comments	284	(4)
Lawrence Haddad
Floor Discussion	288	(1)
Governance and Anticorruption: New Insights and Challenges	289	(12)
Daniel Kaufmann
Comments	295	(4)
Anwar Shah
Floor Discussion	299	(2)
Panel Discussion: Combating Public Corruption	301	(10)
Jack Titsworth
Navin Girishankar
El Sayed Zaki
Part X: Social Inclusion and Civil Society
Nongovernmental Organizations and Evaluation: The BRAC Experience	311	(18)
Salehuddin Ahmed
Mohammad Rafi
Comments	322	(3)
Ariel Fiszbein
Floor Discussion	325	(4)
Social Exclusion and Rural Underdevelopment	329	(16)
Adolfo Figueroa
Comments	338	(2)
Aloysius Fernandes
Floor Discussion	340	(5)
Part XI: Conclusions
Panel Discussion: Final Roundtable	345	(10)
Frances Stewart
Ravi Kanbur
Joachim von Braun
Nora Lustig
Floor Discussion	352	(3)
Concluding Remarks	355	(8)
Robert Picciotto
List Of Authors And Discussants	363	(4)
Index	367