Pensent-ils différemment : la « voix des pauvres » à travers les enquêtes statistiques

The lack of success of past strategies in reducing poverty has raised doubts as to whether these strategies were really an appropriate response to the needs of impoverished populations. Bearing in mind the aims of the new generation of development programmes to "empower" the poor, representative opinion polls combined with quantitative statistical surveys can be an innovative and effective way of hearing and relaying the "voice of the poor", so that they can affect decision- making and influence policy. This method was applied empirically, drawing on an exceptionally rich corpus of household surveys carried out in the capital of Madagascar. First, analysis of living conditions shows an accumulation of handicaps among the poorest - difficulty of finding employment, low access to human and physical capital, vulnerability, poor integration in social life, besides the various forms of deprivation – which even further reduce their chance of rising out of poverty. Second, based on views expressed on a wide range of themes such as economic reform, liberalisation and democracy, it emerges that, on many issues, the opinions of the poor do not differ fundamentally from those of the population as a whole. The specificity of the poor’s message lies in their strong "need for the State".