Political Economy in Practice

Politics matter in development and in development cooperation. Few would dispute this statement. If aid efforts, for example, don’t result in envisaged changes, usually the blame is on a lack of “political will”. But what does that mean? What really matters in politics when we discuss development?

The last couple of years, some donors have invested energy in so-called political-economy approaches to analyses and assessments. Political economy analysis is commonly understood as the interaction of political and economic processes in a society: the distribution of power and wealth between different groups and individuals, and the processes that create, sustain and transform these relationships over time (DFID definition).

Development is viewed as change processes affected by the interests of the various actors in society, by the way they interact with the state, the power and influence they exercise, but also by structural and institutional dimensions such as state formation,  geography, history and global drivers of change.

The EU is considering how  to strengthen the use of political economy insights in its work.  The emphsis currently is on supporting staff, including through training, in applying political economy approaches as a core part of their work.

This Group intends to  track and support  this work, sharing research findings, highlighting the practice and added value of PE approaches, and enabling exchanges between EU staff and with other practitioners and experts.

The Group will facilitate access to selected readings and guidance in this area, and share  information on ongoing initiatives.  Special attention will be given to : sector work - including the application of  the EU "sector governance assessment tool" or other methods – the development of PE guidance within the PPCM.