Getting to Know the Poor

Abstract

The theme of the World Bank's principal publication in 2000/2001, the World Development Report, was "Attacking Poverty." Such a focus is not surprising given the centrality of fighting poverty to the mission of the World Bank. However, what was noteworthy about the 2000/2001 Report was the prominent way the Bank featured what it called the "voices of the poor." The perspectives of poor people informed both the Report's descriptions of the challenges of poverty and the Report's proposed policy responses. By incorporating the lives, language, and experiences of the poor directly into the Report, the Bank participated in a larger trend in changing how poverty is understood: from international aid and development organizations to academics and journalists, portrayals of poor people have taken center stage in the discussion of poverty and development policy.