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Macro and Structural Policies

Key Initiatives | Resources

UNDP works to provide policy options and promote policy dialogue on Macroeconomic Policies and Adjustment Policies in order to promote the reduction of poverty and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

UNDP has led policy-oriented research across all regions, focusing predominantly on two areas:

  • Economic Policies and Poverty Reduction - Past work has focused on the link between economic policies and poverty reduction, covering fiscal, monetary and exchange-rate policies, financial policies and the privatisation and commercialisation of public services.


  • Economic Policies and the MDGs – More recent research has focused on the link between economic policies and the MDGs and, specifically, on the macroeconomic consequences of a dramatic scaling up of Official Development Assistance to help developing countries reach the MDGs. This has involved broadening the focus of our research to include Economic Policies for Growth and Employment as well as for Poverty Reduction. It has also involved focusing on the macroeconomics of scaling up HIV/AIDS financing.

Key Initiatives

Privatisation and Poverty Reduction – A global programme on Privatisation and Poverty Reduction has produced an upcoming book on Africa, papers on transition economies such as Armenia and China and a UNDP International Poverty Centre working paper on the consequences for the MDGs of privatizing and commercializing public services.

Global Imbalances and Policy Responses - Another major area of global research involves using a world trade and income model to examine and evaluate global imbalances and suggest a development-oriented policy agenda that would redirect capital flows to developing countries and help them achieve the MDGs.

Global Training Initiative - The Bureau for Development Policy and the Regional Bureau for Africa have developed training modules in sub-Saharan Africa on Pro-Poor Growth, Employment and Fiscal and Monetary Policies. This has led to the development by the International Poverty Centre of global training modules on fiscal, monetary and financial policies.

Resources

The Macroeconomics of MDG-Based PRSPs

"MDG-Based PRSPs Need More Ambitious Economic Policies" Terry McKinley, Poverty Group, January 2005.

The Macroeconomic Consequences of Scaling up ODA for the MDGs

"Why Is the Dutch Disease Always a Disease? The Macroeconomic Consequences of Scaling up ODA" Terry McKinley, Working Paper #10 of the International Poverty Centre, November 2005.

"Gearing Macroeconomic Policies to Manage Large Inflows of ODA: Implications for HIV/AIDS Programmes" by Anis Chowdhury and Terry McKinley, Working Paper #17 of the International Poverty Centre, May 2006.

"The Macroeconomic Debate on Scaling up HIV/AIDS Financing" Terry McKinley and Degol Hailu, Policy Research Brief #1 of the International Poverty Centre, September 2006.

The Privatisation and Commercialisation of Public Services

"Can Privatisation and Commercialisation of Public Services Help Achieve the MDGs? An Assessment" Kate Bayliss and Tim Kessler, Working Paper #22 of the International Poverty Centre, July 2006.

"Utilities' Pricing and the Poor: The Case of Armenia" Frederick Nixson and Bernard Walters, Paper prepared for the Global UNDP Project "Privatisation and Poverty Reduction", June 2005. [to be provided]

Global Imbalances and Macroeconomic Responses

"The Monopoly of Global Capital Flows: Who Needs Structural Adjustment Now?" Terry McKinley, Working Paper #12 of the International Poverty Centre, March 2006.

"Addressing Global Imbalances: A Development-Oriented Policy Agenda" Alex Izurieta and Terry McKinley, Working Paper #23 of the International Poverty Centre, July 2006.

Regional Initiatives

Asia-Pacific Regional Programme on the Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction, 2002-2004
This body of work started in 2002, based on collaboration between the Poverty Group and the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, on the Regional Programme on the “Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction”. This led to seven initial national reports covering macroeconomic and adjustment policies and several thematic reports and summary papers:

"Pro-Poor Growth and Policies: The Asian Experience" Hafiz A. Pasha and T. Palanivel Fall 2003.

"The Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction: Initial Findings of the UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Programme" Terry McKinley, August 2003.

Eastern Europe and the CIS, 2002-2005
The Asia-Pacific Programme helped stimulate similar national reports in Eastern Europe and the CIS:

"Gearing Public Finance to Growth, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Moldova" by Terry McKinley, Country Study #3 of the International Poverty Centre, July 2006.

The Macroeconomics of the Transition
Summary reports on the "Macroeconomics of the Transition" covered countries in Asia-Pacific, such as China, Mongolia and Vietnam, as well as those in Eastern Europe and the CIS:

"Macroeconomic Policies, Growth and Poverty Reduction in Kyrgyz Republic" Azizur Rahman Khan, national report supported by the Poverty Group, July 2002.

"The Macroeconomics of Transition: The Comparative Experience of Seven Transition Economies" Terry McKinley, Poverty Group, March 2004.

"Macroeconomic Policy in Transition Economies" (Part I), Terry McKinley, Poverty Group, March 2004. | Part II

Arab States Programme on the Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction, 2004-2006
Drawing on the Asia-Pacific experience, another Regional Programme on the "Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction" started in 2004 in the Arab States. This programme has produced national reports in Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and employment-focused reports in Egypt and Morocco.

Sub-Saharan Africa, 2005-2006
Most recently, work on Macro and Structural Policies has focused on sub-Saharan Africa, and been linked to the work of the Regional Bureau for Africa and the Bureau for Development Policy on “Economic Policies in Support of MDGs and Poverty Reduction”. National reports in Ghana, South Africa and Zambia and summary reports have been produced. In addition, the International Poverty Centre has published several Country Studies based on these national reports.

"An Employment Targeted Economic Programme for South Africa" by Robert Pollin, Gerald Epstein, James Heintz and Leonce Ndikuma, Country Study #1 of the International Poverty Centre, June 2006.
Full South Africa Report: www.peri.umass.edu

"Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Reform for Employment Creation and Poverty Reduction in Ghana" by Gerald Epstein and James Heintz, Country Study #2 of the International Poverty Centre, June 2006.

"Does Debt Relief Increase Fiscal Space in Zambia?" by John Weeks and Terry McKinley, Country Study #5 of the International Poverty Centre, September 2006.

"Economic Alternatives for Sub-Saharan Africa: 'Poverty Traps', MDG-Based Strategies and Accelerated Capital Accumulation" Terry McKinley, Paper presented at the G-24 Meeting, 15-16 September 2005.