Background to Poverty and Economic Policy Research Network

The PEP Network is an organization funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC-Canada). It assists countries in building their research capacity in order to reduce poverty through better macroeconomic policies and micro-level interventions.

PEP is comprised of three sub-networks with specific goals and missions: (1) Modelling and Policy Impact Analysis (MPIA), (2) Poverty Monitoring, Measurement and Analysis (PMMA), and (3) Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS).

The MPIA Network aims to build high quality research capacity at the national level. It also seeks to develop new concepts and methodologies in the modelling and assessment of the impact of macroeconomic policies on poverty and equity at household and intra-household levels.  Included among its major research themes are growth and poverty, public spending and poverty, and impact of poverty on globalization.

The second sub-network, PMMA, focuses more closely on poverty and concentrates primarily on developing national and comparative research capacity, as well as new concepts and methodologies. Its priority research themes are multidimensional poverty, labour markets and poverty, and reliability of poverty eradication measures.

The last sub-network, CBMS, attempts to build the capacity of planners and programme implementers at national and local level for a more transparent system of resource allocation and governance. In general, this sub-network aims to provide a reliable information base for policymaking, programme design and impact monitoring through the development of community-based monitoring systems.

Gender issues are among the major research themes covered by CBMS. One of its current initiatives entails “Facilitating Gender Responsive Budgeting and Planning through CBMS”.

This year’s general meeting is being organized by a host of partners, namely the Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies of De La Salle University (Manila); the Centre Inter-universitaire sur le Risque, les Politiques Économiques et l'Emploi (Laval University); and UNECA’s African Centre for Gender and Development (ACGD). Participants are expected to deliberate on potential areas of research collaboration between ECA and the Network, in addition to exchanging views and information on recent research findings in the field of poverty alleviation.

The Addis meeting hopes to achieve the following results: approve new proposals to be financed by the MPIA network; train researchers on Modelling and Policy Impact Assessments, Poverty Monitoring and Measurement Analysis sub networks; and identify areas of collaboration between ECA and PEP.