The Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: An analysis of a hegemonic link between education and poverty

This paper has two main objectives. First, it aims to analyse the connections between education and poverty established by the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), a central policy tool for the articulation of the Post Washington Consensus. Second, it intends to study how the PRSPs have been consolidated and expanded through different international organisations. With these objectives, the paper includes four sections: the first and second sections present the ‘model of poverty’ and the ‘model of education’ defined in the PRSPs. The third analyses how different international actors have adopted the PRSPs as a guide to orient their strategies and policies in the field of education, development and poverty reduction. The fourth and final section critically explores the current global development agenda and identifies some of its main challenges in terms of conceptualisation and implementation.

► We explore the role of PRSP in setting the hegemonic global agenda for development.
► We show the mechanisms by which the World Bank is constructing hegemony in the field of education and poverty.
► We demonstrate the role of PRSP as a condition for developing countries to gain access to international resources.