Introduction

In the presence of such deep cleavages of opinion it might seem foolish to search once again for areas of common ground on anti-poverty policy, and yet this is what is attempted here. Following some analysis of the driving forces underlying such policies, we then seek to define what is agreed and what is contentious about them. The distinguishing features of our approach are, first, the attempt at an integrated treatment of poverty in ‘northern’ and ‘southern’ environments but also, second, the extensive incorporation of the views of development and social policy practitioners as well as those of academic researchers.