Critically examine the arguments in favour of devising development Essay

Critically examine the arguments in favour of devising development policies which promote pro-poor economic growth - Essay Example Policies that have been used to tackle poverty since 1970s aim at reducing economic poverty by initiating pro-poor growth. Pro-poor growth is as the term suggests is growth on the part of the poor by raising their I ncomes (Ravallion 2003). Pro-poor growth policies are appropriately set to ensure that sustainable growth is achieved. Pro-poor growth policies should be able to cause rapid and sustainable poverty reduction. This can be ensured through allowing the poor people to participate, contribute and benefit. The argument behind such policies is that the involvement of the poor as both facilitators and beneficiaries is crucial because it ensures long-term growth and sustainable poverty reduction. For the policies to be effective, however, they should deal with all dimensions of poverty including environment and gender. Achievements in any of the dimensions are influenced by achievements in the others. This means that tackling one dimension of poverty cannot reduce poverty as others will curtail progress (Hausmann, Dani & Andres 2006). The policies should also empower the poor so as to ensure that they will not slip back to poverty in the future. If the policies fail in this respect, then the poor will remain poor ev en with considerable growth in the overall economy. All the processes involved in pro-poor growth should be transparent and accountable to be able to serve the interests of the poor successfully. Sustainable pro-poor growth will help the over three billion people who hardly get their basic need. Pro-poor policies are believed to be effective in that they tend to target the root causes of poverty (gender inequality, limited asset base, and lack of education among others). Initiating pro-poor growth is not possible without identifying and analyzing the major causes of poverty. All stakeholders in government agencies and private sectors have been in the front line to ensure that problems causing poverty are