LIST OF PANELS

Poverty is still a major issue in the policy agenda. According to the most recent estimates, in 2015, almost 750 million people in the world lived on less than a $1.90 a day. The majority of the global poor live in rural areas, are poorly educated, employed in the agricultural sector, and under 18 years of age. Policies to reduce rural poverty have been implemented over the last decades in several countries through a broad mix of strategies and policy tools. There is a general consensus that these policies have contributed to social and economic inclusion, creating alternatives for poor families and communities, as well as promoting economic development. Despite the progress made, troubling signs are emerging as the pace of poverty reduction is slowing. Furthermore, fast economic and technological transformations in the world economy, rapid expansion of multinational agribusiness complexes in Latin America and Africa, and new demands derived from the impact of climate change, stablished a new set of challenges for policy makers involved in rural poverty alleviation policies. As the strategic importance of rural poverty alleviation policies became acknowledged, there also remains many new issues and important questions that need to be addressed, such as: Are there different ways to define and measure rural poverty in different contexts? What conditions, causal mechanisms or different modes of rural poverty might be identified both historically and in the present? Are there important changes in these mechanisms? Why the decline in rural poverty has slowed in recent years? Are there new important behavioral or institutional issues that should inform the design of a new generation of rural poverty alleviation policies? How should we decide about the proper policy strategies and the policy tools that should be adopted to reduce rural poverty? How these choices should be guided by the new demands related to environmental sustainability, equal rights, labor rights, population health, among others? What do rural poverty alleviation mean for the development processes in different political, institutional and cultural contexts? Can strategies adopted in the developed world inform new demands for rural poverty alleviation in the developing world (or vice-versa)? How rural poverty alleviation policies should address multi-level governance issues? What are the best arrangements for stakeholder participation in promoting sustainable solutions for rural poverty alleviation? How to evaluate the role of firms/NGOs in the creation and capture of business/social value in alignment with rural poverty alleviation policies? What are the drivers, the impact and the risks of adopting new technologies and innovative business models as part of the strategy for rural poverty alleviation? How new logistics solutions and innovative business models can contribute to rural alleviation policies in the developing world?

This panel is aimed at contributing to the recent debate on new challenges and possibilities related to rural poverty alleviation policies in the developing world (Latin America, Africa, Middle-East, Eastern Europe and Asia). We are interested in analytical papers, case studies and assessments regarding new modes of governance, the choice and adoption of technological innovations, new business models, and new monitoring and evaluating strategies, especially those aimed to reduce income and categorical inequalities as well as promoting environmental sustainability.

Policies to reduce rural poverty have been implemented over the last decades in several countries through a broad mix of strategies and instruments. There is a general consensus that these policies have the potential to contribute to social and economic inclusion, creating alternatives for poor families and communities, as well as promoting economic development. In an attempt to address these issues, a number of studies have been conducted, analyzing past experiences and suggesting strategies and tools for improving policy management. However, with rare exceptions, these studies have achieved quite modest results. As a consequence, many important questions related to the best strategies to manage and evaluate policies for rural poverty alleviation remain unanswered.

Amidst the fast economic and technological transformations in the world economy and new demands derived from the impact of climate change, new challenges and possibilities arise for defining policies’ content, scope, goals and strategies, as well as in the way of formulating, implementing and evaluating their actions and results.

This panel is aimed at contributing to the recent debate on new challenges and possibilities related to rural poverty alleviation policies in the developing world (Latin America, Africa, Middle-East, Eastern Europe and Asia). We are interested in analytical papers, case studies and assessments regarding new modes of governance, the choice and adoption of technological innovations, new business models, and new monitoring and evaluating strategies, especially those aimed to reduce income and categorical inequalities as well as promoting environmental sustainability.