Introduction

This chapter will describe briefly how international social policy and academic research on poverty has been changing in the past decade and, in particular, how a widening chasm is developing between the anti-poverty policies being advocated by UN agencies and those of the EU. These latter evolving antipoverty policies have a number of profound implications for the measurement of poverty by international organisations and national statistical offices (NSOs). Without good comparable measures of poverty, it will be impossible to determine if anti-poverty policies are working effectively and efficiently.

International anti-poverty policies

It has long been a dream of humanity to remove poverty from the face of the earth. There have been many fine words and failed attempts to achieve this in the past. However, there is now a strong desire among most of the world's governments to end poverty during the 21st century and a growing international momentum to take concrete action to eradicate poverty on a global scale. If this result is achieved (even partially) then it will have a number of dramatic effects including a significant improvement in the health of the people of the world (WHO, 1995, 1998).

Although there is now widespread agreement on the need to end poverty, there remains considerable international disagreement on the best way this can be achieved. In particular, there is a growing divide between the policies being pursued by the US and the Bretton Woods institutions (such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund [IMF]) and the EU.

For 40 years, the World Bank, the IMF and other UN agencies have been pursuing what is, basically, the same set of anti-poverty policies (Townsend and Gordon, 2000). These have three elements:

• • broad-based economic growth;

• • development of human capital, primarily through education;

• • minimum social safety nets for the poor.

These policies have been unsuccessful. The number of poor people in the world has continued to increase and, in particular, these same policies have resulted in terrible consequences in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and in the countries of the former Soviet Union. In part, they have failed due to a rigid adherence to neo-liberal economic orthodoxy.