THIS SHORT VOLUME discusses the processes through which the World Bank Office in Indonesia is seeking to be effective in poverty reduction. The study emerged from a partnership agreement between the World Bank and the Department for International Development (UK). As a part of that process, it was agreed that a benchmarking study would be undertaken to summarize the current position of the Office with regard to poverty reduction and to see how the work might be made more effective.
A number of processes through which the Bank’s staff develop their work on poverty are described. This includes their conceptualization of the problems which account for poverty, the way in which opinions about poverty and poverty reduction are formed, and the use that is made of this knowledge. The authors identify some potential benchmarks to be used to identify and evaluate change in these and related activities. The book offers a snapshot of how one Bank Office views and considers poverty and approaches poverty reduction.