PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 2 Analysing the impact of macro-economic policies using PRA in Mwingi District, Kenya

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 2 Analysing the impact of macro-economic policies using PRA in Mwingi District, Kenya Anton Simanowitz Introduction and objectives analyse local price changes in relation to national changes. This paper describes how we used participatory Over a period of two years and at both a research to explore the impact of macro- national and local level, there had been high economic policy, in particular Structural inflation in purchased goods, but low rises in Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), on rural people's livelihoods. The research was producer prices. However, these changes were not uniform, and the understanding of the undertaken for ACTIONAID-Kenya (May - relative price changes was key to understanding July 1994). PRA methodologies were used to the impact of these changes on household enable rural people to analyse economic livelihood. changes and identify development options for augmenting livelihood strategies, with or The research sought to gain an understanding of without the assistance of ACTIONAID. the range of livelihood structures in the area (e.g. goods bought and sold, reciprocal labour, Kyuso, Mwingi District, is a semi-arid area that casual labour for cash or kind, bride-price supports subsistence agriculture. Much of the payments), and to explore relative changes ...