Values, Norms and Poverty: A Workshop in Johannesburg, January 12-14, 1999

Introduction:

The World Bank’s World Development Report 2000/1, due out in October 2000, will be on Poverty and Development. The objective of the Report will be to undertake a forward-looking and policy-oriented synthesis of the analytical debate on the World Bank’s overarching objective—Poverty Reduction.

It is now recognized that the analysis of poverty must be rooted in poor people’s own experiences and perceptions of poverty, and that we must take a multidimensional view of poverty—going beyond income and consumption to include education and health, and other factors such as risk and vulnerability, and crime and violence. It is also recognized that for anti-poverty policies and interventions to be successful they must build on local-level, community-based efforts, and must take into account ethical and faith values of the community and society.

However, we need to get beyond these general recognitions and discuss their implications for detailed analysis and practical policy. How are dimensions of poverty beyond income or education or health to be measured, especially those which are related to individual perceptions or community actions? What role do social norms play in excluding large groups in society from the benefits of development? And what exactly are the implications of all this for international distributive justice? These are the sorts of questions which the WDR2000/1 will need to address.

To begin a dialogue on these issues, and on the WDR2000/1 more generally, a consultation was hosted in Johannesburg by the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town on January 12-14, 1999. It was sponsored by the World Faiths Development Dialogue, the Swiss Development Cooperation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Cornell University, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. The consultation was be in two parts. The first part, on January 12-13, will focus specifically on Values and Norms, and discuss a broad range of issues to do with concepts and measurement. The second part, on January 14, will be a day-long detailed discussion, chapter by chapter, on a proposed chapter outline for the Report.

Participation in the consultation was wide-ranging. Representatives from different sections of African civil society were present, as well as academics from outside of Africa. Faiths were represented through a team from the World Faiths Development Dialogue. The World Bank was represented by its Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, and members of WDR2000/1 core team.

Talking Points from the Workshop:

Anne Case:  Participatory Methods of Poverty Measurement

Robert Chambers: Notes for the Session on Participatory Methods of Poverty Measurement

Angus Deaton: Frontiers of Poverty Measurement in Economics

Uzo Egbuche: Poverty and The Environment: Making Development Work in Africa

Ronald J. Herring: International Justice, Poverty, and the Environment

Institute of Ismaili Studies: Social Norms and Social Exclusion: Reaching the Poor: Programs of the Aga Khan Development Network

P. D. Premasiri: Religious Values and the Measurement of Poverty: A Buddhist Perspective

Alice Sindzingre: Values, Norms and Measurement: Main Issues

Matthew Weinberg: Religious Values and the Measurement of Poverty: A Baha'i Perspective

For more information, contact the authors, or
Ravi Kanbur
Cornell University
sk145@cornell.edu

Agenda:

January 12

• Visit to anti-poverty interventions
• Session I: Opening Session
  • Moderator: Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Minister for Welfare, South Africa
  • Presenter: Archbishop of Cape Town, "Keynote Address".
  • Presenter: Joseph Stiglitz, World Bank.
• Session II: Values, Norms and Measurement in the World Development Report on Poverty and Development
  • Moderator: Javier Iguinez, Instituto Bartolome de las Casas, Peru
  • Presenter: Alice Sindzingre, CNRS, Paris
  • Presenter: Uzo Egbuche, Center for Environmental Resources, Nigeria
• Session III: The Frontiers of Poverty Measurement in Economics
  • Moderator: Abdoumaliq Simone, Witwatersrand University
  • Presenter: Angus Deaton, Princeton University
  • Presenter: Ali Abdel Gader Ali, Economic Commission for Africa

January 13

• Session IV: Social Norms, Social Exclusion and Poverty Measurement
  • Moderator: Pauline Biyong, League for Woman & Child Education, Cameroon
  • Presenter: Monica Das Gupta, World Bank
  • Presenter: Azim Lakhani, Aga Khan Development Network
• Session V: Religious Values and the Measurement of Poverty
  • Moderator: Jalal Abdel Latif, Inter Africa Group, Ethiopia
  • Presenter: Matt Weinberg, Baha’i International Community
  • Presenter: P.D. Premasiri, University of Peradenyia, Sri Lanka
• Session VI: Participatory Methods of Poverty Measurement
  • Moderator: Victoria Ginja, Ministry of Planning and Finance, Mozambique
  • Presenter: Robert Chambers, Sussex University
  • Presenter: Anne Case, Princeton University
• Session VII: Values, Norms and International Justice
  • Moderator: Swami Aranananda, Ramakrishna Mission
  • Presenter: Ethan Kapstein, University of Minnesota
  • Presenter: Ron Herring, Cornell University
• Session VIII: Closing Session on Values, Norms and Poverty: What Have We Learnt?
  • Moderator: Fayez Omar, World Bank
  • Presenter: Jeffrey Solomon, Charles and Andrea Bronfman Philanthropies
  • Presenter: Kweku Appiah, National Development Planning Commission, Ghana

January 14: African Consultation on WDR outline

• The Broad Approach to the WDR, and a First Cut Chapter Outline  -  Speaker: Ravi Kanbur, Cornell University

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