Topic: Equity & Poverty Alleviation

With the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers initiative, the World Bank is moving to further mainstream poverty reduction in its development assistance and capacity building activities. As part of this effort, WBI is developing learning products concentrating on cutting-edge issues related to poverty analysis and poverty reduction strategies, which range from measurement issues to the impact of macroeconomic adjustment on poverty and income distribution, to poverty and decentralization and gender budgeting.

In designing these products, WBI taps the World Bank's and its partners' accumulated knowledge on poverty reduction matters, including conceptual issues and best practices as indicated by international experience. Three major issues are the main focus of WBI's work on poverty reduction, as reflected in its product lines:

1. The kind of economic growth (i.e., equitable and sustainable) most favorable to the poor.
2. The policies and institutions to build the capacity of the poor to fully benefit from growth, ranging from distributional issues to participatory approaches to enhance social inclusion. 
3. The interventions required to protect the most vulnerable segments in the developing world's societies.

• Program Objective
• Course Content

Program Objective

Many developing countries are reforming their public finance structure as a key strategy for escaping from the traps of macroeconomic instability, inequitable economic growth, and ineffective and inefficient systems of governance in which so many of them have become mired. The principal purpose of this program is to provide understanding on how fiscal systems can be designed and implemented in order to achieve efficient and fair revenue generation, and improved resource allocation in support of poverty reduction strategies.

Course Content

There will be a menu of modules to be offered in the context of this program that has been prepared in consultation with the PRSP countries involved. The program will be tailored to the needs of each country/region.

The following topics are part of the menu of modules presented in this program:

• Design and implementation of pro-poor tax systems; 
• Programmatic approach to public expenditures and foreign aid coordination; 
• Restructuring and systems to track debt service saved as a result of HIPC deals; 
• Governance of the budget, and 
• Impact of fiscal systems on the poor.