Full Knowledge Base

Power analysis can help donors understand underlying structural factors impeding poverty reduction as well as incentives and disincentives for pro-poor development. Such analysis may point to i.a. why resources and authority are not transferred to lower levels of government in spite of decentralisation reforms, why women are not allowed to inherit land, and why poor people’s human rights, in particular, tend to be neglected – and what could be done about such expressions of politics of poverty. This way power analysis, which gravitates to political analysis, may complement other types of analyses referred to in Sida’s policy document, Perspectives of the Poor – social and economic analyses, all of which must take cross cutting concerns into account: such as gender equality, democracy and good governance, respect for human rights, and sustainable development, conflict management and security, social development and security, economic growth, global public goods, and HIV/AIDS. Political, economic and social analyses must always use the perspectives of the poor and the rights perspective as their starting points: key parts include participation, openness and transparency, accountability, and equality in dignity and rights.