Transcript Slide 1

Developing rural institutions
that strengthen the voice
of the rural poor
Eduardo T. Gonzalez
Prepared for
the IFPRI-ADB Policy Forum
10 August 2007
Institutions – rules &
organizations

Institutions - the rules and formal/informal
structures that govern the interaction
among economic, social and political
organizations (Greif, 2003; North, 1990).
• Rural institutions mediate the
access of the rural poor to
assets, financial and other
services, technologies and
markets.
What ails rural institutions?




Lack of economies of scale and bargaining
ability.
High transaction costs in accessing markets
Patron-client relationships
Gendered or caste-based norms of behavior
Why have past approaches
not been effective?




Not based on “voice and choice” of actors
Not much attention paid to heterogeneity or
context-specific factors
Drift in attacking rural poverty toward welfare
transfers instead of empowerment for income
generation and social development.
Institutions tended to be controlled by the
powerful non-poor.
Why is there a need for a new
institutional framework?




Greater reliance on private and collective
initiatives of the poor themselves
represents a turning point.
Achieving competitiveness of the poor in
the context of market forces can “help the
poor play by the rules”.
Rural is more than agriculture: there’s a
need for multi-sectoral empowerment
approaches
Recognition of heterogeneity of
circumstances is important.
Are there new opportunities
for success?




Widespread progress with the use of social
capital and the growth of local organizations
allows new people-centered approaches.
Greater leeway in experimenting with
approaches that can place the poor and their
organizations as agents of change.
Increased importance given to culture and
environmental problems.
There is some evidence that a steep learning
curve pays off with scaled-up empowerment.
What are the entry points?


Programs to reduce access deficits
- access to land through land coalitions
- access to markets through producer groups
Programs to promote social
incorporation
- capacity-building to make the poor agents
of change
- increased use of partnerships with civil
society
- effective use of representation
What are the entry points?

Programs to improve context
- creating political infrastructure for rural
participation
- pursuing a territorial approach
(decentralization)
- solving the “last mile” problem (improving
reach)
Things to remember


There are no
blueprints. Most
everything is
context-specific
Initially, there may
be path dependence.