CPRC Research themes

The Conceptualisation of poverty dynamics and persistent poverty theme recognised the need to deepen and sharpen the conceptualisation of chronic poverty and poverty dynamics, and to contribute to international debates while ensuring that the duration of poverty is firmly rooted in the conceptualisation, analysis and measurement of poverty.

CPRC's conceptual work draws on the Centre’s other research themes on poverty dynamics, the intergenerational transmission of poverty across generations and the influence of risk and vulnerability on present behaviour and future prospects.

Research

Quantitaive and qualitative work (Q²⁾ in this area has considered how chronic poverty can best be understood through measurement, ‘participatory’ research, and other approaches. We have provided evidence on how people become poor, escape poverty, or get caught in ‘poverty traps’. Our work also explains other concepts such as ‘ultrapoor’, intergenerational poverty, relative poverty, durable poverty. 

Innovative Q² research by the CPRC have contributed to national poverty analyses in Bangladesh, Tanzania, and also in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Uganda.

Bringing together our conceptual work was the workshop on Staying poor: chronic poverty and development policy held in Manchester on October 2006. Contributions from the workshop was published in the book Poverty Dynamics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.

Some successes of our concepts research include establishing that persistently poor people are adversely incorporated and excluded economically, socially, politically. Also importantly, our research has moved dominant thinking on social protection (from the World Bank's Social Risk Management Framework in 2000), to a broader concept that social protection is a means to addressing chronic and extreme poverty. 

Key resources

What is chronic poverty?

• Poverty Dynamics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
  ^Book
• Chronic Poverty: An Introduction
  ^{CPRC Policy brief 1}
• The Chronic Poverty Report 2004-2005
  ^{Chronic poverty report}

Identifying and measuring chronic poverty

• Very poor, for a long time, in many ways... Defining the poorest for policymakers
  ^{CPRC Working paper 124}
• Understanding and explaining chronic poverty - An evolving framework for Phase III of CPRC's research
  ^{CPRC Working paper 80}
• ‘Identifying and Measuring Chronic Poverty: Beyond Monetary Measures’
  ^{CPRC-India Working paper 30}

Causes of chronic poverty

• The Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09: Escaping Poverty Traps
  ^{Chronic poverty report}
• Chronic Poverty: Meanings and Analytical Frameworks
  ^{CPRC Working paper 2}
• Services for the poorest: from angst to action
  ^{CPRC Working paper 128}

Q2 Research

• Chronic Poverty and Development Policy in Tanzania
  ^{Working paper series}
• ^{Chronic poverty and the long-term impact study in Bangladesh}
• Life histories research based on Ugandan Q2 research
  ^{CPRC Toolkit}

See more resources on the Concepts theme