The Polyscopic Landscape of Poverty Research

In August 2004 the Research Council of Norway announced tenders for a "State-of-the-Art" report in international poverty research, with special focus on institutions and rights. The Research Council wanted the report to provide an overview over the present state of knowledge in the field, indicate the frontiers of research, identify the most pressing needs for new knowledge, and suggest how Norwegian expertise can contribute to poverty research in the South.

CROP was successful with its tender, and in close cooperation with scholars in the South and other members of the CROP international network of poverty researchers prepared a 182 page report entitled "State of the Art" in International Poverty Research. An Overview and 6 in-Depth Studies.

The report describes some of the directions different approaches to poverty research have taken. The emphasis is on poverty research undertaken in the South and on the kind of poverty research outside the South which is likely to have had an impact on poverty research in the South.

The description of the polyscopic landscape of poverty research demonstrates at least three trends in the understanding of poverty. The major trend is that disciplines and actors use concepts for the understanding of poverty and poverty reduction, as an integral part of their disciplinary or organisational position and interests. This narrows down the analysis and prioritises certain aspects of poverty while other aspects are systematically ignored.

Another trend is that a few concepts dominate the understanding of poverty and poverty reduction. Throughout changing discourses and policies some concepts seem to be more persistent than others, no matter their usefulness or the context in which they are used.

A third tendency is that the same concept used to describe poverty and poverty reduction is given a different content in many of the studies. On the one hand it makes comparisons between studies invalid, thereby diminishing learning effects. On the other hand one can ask why a new content is introduced for a certain definition. When is this due to innovation and when to incomplete knowledge?

Six in-depth studies of importance to poverty understanding are presented. Two of these studies are regional and discuss respectively the development of poverty research in Latin America and South Africa. Four of the studies are topical and discuss poverty in relation to respectively water, legal frameworks, human rights and institutionalisation of poverty reduction. The last chapter provides recommendations for future research including the need to focus on poverty production in order to better understand the forces that maintains poverty. Without such knowledge, research on poverty reducing efforts will be of little value. An Appendix gives an overview of institutions engaged in poverty research.

When the report was published, special adviser in the Research Council of Norway at the time, Liv Tørres, stated that "Even though CROP makes certain reservations, this report provides solid documentation and is an important instrument in guiding the Research Council of Norway's efforts with respect to Norwegian development research. The report is also valuable for everybody that is concerned about poverty and poverty reduction such as research-communities, governments, NGOs and other national- and international organizations."

During the 2013 Scientific Committee Meeting and the 20th Anniversary event, it was decided to produce a book on the present and future of poverty research that will be edited by Maria Petmesidou, Sharon Bessell and David Hulme. This book will take stock of the substantial knowledge on poverty and inequality accumulated over the years, and traces the changing poverty landscape, assess the accomplishments and limitations of MDGs and map out opportunities and challenges of moving beyond a minimum set of social standards in the global arena. In the aftermath of a global economic and financial crisis and at a time when the post-MDGs agenda has triggered a critical debate on development and poverty eradication, it is a necessary updated since “The Polyscopic Landscape of Poverty Research” and the former “Poverty: A Global Review”, published in 1996.

The full text of the report can be found at: The Polyscopic Landscape of Poverty Research