CFP: The World Bank and Poverty Reduction

We would like to invite contributions to a series of linked panels on “The World Bank and Poverty Reduction” for the International Studies Association (ISA) annual convention, taking place in New York City from the 15th until the 18th of February 2009.

The central task of the panels will be to interrogate the World Bank’s move towards the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF), and its most visible policy tool, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), and to evaluate the success of poverty reduction strategies a decade into their existence. The return of poverty reduction as the guiding principle of all World Bank operations raises a number of interrelated questions:

To what extent do poverty reduction strategies represent a rupture with the Washington-Consensus based neoliberal paradigm? Does the post-Washington Consensus simply ideologically legitimate neoliberal practices, or are there substantial differences in policy content between Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). What explains the move towards poverty reduction? What have been the positive (or negative) impacts of PRSP on poor people on the ground? What are the gender implications of the Bank’s policy transformations? And how successful have PRSPs been in addressing poverty and exclusion?

We are particularly interested in country case studies that look at the impact of PRSPs on the ground in African and Asian countries.

We are also planning to turn the conference papers into an edited collection on the World Bank and Poverty Reduction, and are currently approaching a number of publishers.

Please, contact us as soon as possible at aruckert@connect.carleton.ca, if you are interested in participating in this panel (and the associated book project). The deadline for a short abstract (250 words) is May 20th. Confirmed participants thus far include Robert Wade, Heloise Weber, Marcus Taylor, and Manfred Bienefeld.

Best regards,

Manfred Bienefeld (Professor, Carleton University)
Arne Ruckert (PhD Candidate, Carleton University)