Originally published: 2012.

Introduction -- A short history of 'pro-poor policy' 1970-2010 -- Building blocks in a poverty strategy -- Political violence, state instability, and poverty -- Pro-poor fiscal strategies -- Institutions, state capacity, and poverty -- The global politics of poverty reduction -- Summary and conclusions -- Argentina / Jean Grugel and Pia Riggirozzi -- Bolivia / Paul Mosley -- Indonesia and Malaysia / Ben Thirkell-White -- Russia / Paul Mosley and Altay Mussurov -- Four African case studies: Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and Zimbabwe / Sue Bowden and Paul Mosley.

Poor people everywhere are politically weak, and yet poverty in some developing countries has gone down dramatically. Why is this? Using nine country case-studies this book provides answers by examining government alliances, the role of aid donors and NGOs, and policies on labour, tax and expenditure.