UNRISD presented its 2010 Flagship Report,
Combating Poverty and Inequality: Structural Change, Social Policy and Politics, at United Nations Headquarters in New York on the 17 September 2010.
The presentation was part of
Three Recent Reports on Poverty: Presentation and Discussion, a partnership event linked to the MDG Summit and the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 65th General Assembly.
Event Description
Three Recent Reports on Poverty: Presentation and Discussion provided a forum to disseminate and discuss the findings and key messages of the three most current global reports on poverty: the UNRISD Flagship Report 2010,
Combating Poverty and Inequality, DESA's report,
Rethinking Poverty: Report on the World Social Situation 2010, and the
Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09' by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre.
The UNRISD report,
Combating Poverty and Inequality, presents new evidence based on original case study research from developed and developing countries that should both contribute to progress towards the MDGs up to 2015, and stimulate discussion of longer term poverty reduction strategies. It emphasizes the role of comprehensive social policies that are grounded in universal rights and that are supportive of patterns of inclusive growth and structural change, social cohesion, and democratic politics. DESA's
Rethinking Poverty disputes the contemporary technocratic vision of poverty reduction and affirms that eradicating poverty requires actions leading to sustainable economic growth, productive employment creation and social development as part of an integrated framework of economic and social policies for the benefit of all citizens.
The Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09 explains five main traps that underpin chronic poverty and outlines key policy responses to these areas. It emphasizes that the development of a 'just social compact' between citizens and states must be the focus for poverty eradication.
Each of the reports address different facets of poverty reduction, but together they examine what works and what has gone wrong in international policy thinking and practice; the causes, dynamics, and persistence of poverty; and the range of policies and institutional measures that countries can adopt to alleviate poverty.