Poverty reduction has become the central goal of development policies over the last decade but there is a growing realization that the poorest people rarely benefit from poverty reduction programmes. Microfinance programmes can help poor people improve their lives but generally such programmes...

Summaries To strengthen the help that programme aid gives to poor, we must strengthen its ability to increase the participation of the poor in growth. To do this requires a detailed appraisal during a programme's preparation to identify the expected impact on poverty of both the resource...

Japan has an impressive history when it comes to aid, industrial policy, and infrastructure development, both as a country that saw meteoric development of its own, and as a country that has been one of the world's largest donors for decades. Looking towards an uncertain future in which...