PSIA – Gauging Poverty Impacts

Abstract

"Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) and Poverty Impact Assessment (PIA) are recently developed tool kits for analysing the distributional impacts of policies, programmes and projects on the wellbeing of the population, with particular focus on the poor and vulnerable. Both approaches provide a comprehensive framework for analysis while drawing on a wide range of well established approaches and tools covering economic, social, political and institutional issues. PSIA involves rigorous in-depth analysis of complex policy reform processes and promotes evidence-based policy choices and dialogue on reform options. PIA is a ‘lighter’ approach focused on decisions concerning development projects and programmes, while also useful for fostering debate and planning for development results, including in the private sector. The International Poverty Centre (IPC) is administering a joint UNDP-World Bank Project on PSIA with a Senior Social Development Specialist from the World Bank Core PSIA Team as counterpart. The general objective is to promote capacities in developing countries for analytical work on the impact of national policies and use these results to influence poverty reduction strategies. This involves adjusting policy design in light of the impact of policies on poor women and men, and providing evidence to inform national policy dialogue." (...)