Summary: Most government policies have the potential to broaden equality and bring positive change to the lives of individuals and communities. However, even well-designed policies can have unintended negatives consequences on certain groups of the population. In an effort to improve the ability of countries to use evidence to assess the potential social and economic impacts of policy reforms, The World Bank has created a series of learning events to bring together policymakers, development practitioners, academics, members from civil society, and international organizations, to share their insights and lessons learned in their countries. The most recent of these Poverty and Social Impact Analysis or PSIA learning events was a collaborative effort between The Bank and one of Africa’s most highly regarded academic institutions, The University of Cape Town. About 20 African countries were represented at the workshop in Cape Town, South Africa, as well as thought leaders and policy makers from India. World Bank acting Chief Economist for the Africa Region, Punam Chuhan-Pole. “PSIA helps policy makers and helps stakeholders understand what would would be the appropriate policies for addressing issues.” One of the aims of the workshop is to prove to policy makers that more research may in fact pay off down the line, while also keeping the varied needs of constituents at the forefront of policy decisions. Dr. Shrikant Baldi is Additional Chief Secretary for finance & Planning in the Government of Himachal Pradesh in India. He says policy discussions usually happen after implementation, which leads to a waste of resources, if these interventions have not been successful. “Generally what happens is that a policy at the state level – you have some stakeholders that suggest something and then it is implemented, good or bad. If it has been implemented badly, then resources have gone. So if we have a concurrent PSIA study, that tells us what is going to be the impact, specially on deserving section, we can make a better policy based on evidence.” Oxford University Professor of Public Policy, Mthuli Ncube, says objectively measuring impacts allows for greater accountability through the policy making system. “The PSIA is very helpful in trying to get African policy makers and citizens to understand how policy can change things for the better. We are all worrying about where the poverty trends are headed for 2030 and the SDG’s are headed for 2030, and this Poverty and Social Impact Analysis really gives us insight into which policies will make the biggest positive impact on poverty reduction. For more information on the World Bank’s work in Africa, visit WorldBank.org/Africa.
