Armenia decided today to raise benefits for those in poverty 20%. This will now be US$34 each month. [source]

This is part of Armenia’s PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper). If you’re not familiar with what a PRSP is, here’s a little background. The international finance institutions were getting a lot of slack for having a top-down approach to economic development. In the late 1990s, after a series of Structural Adjustment Programs which didn’t work very well, it was determined that a collective effort between a country’s government, its NGOs, and these financial institutions would be a better way to determine what the economic problems of a country are and how poverty can be reduced.

So in the late 1990s - early 2000s there was a rush to write up these plans. You can see Armenia’s plan here.

The World Bank and IMF said “If you don’t create one of these plans, no more money from us!” Doesn’t really give a country a choice, does it?

Some would argue that the PRSPs are silly. The governments of the world (not just Armenia) won’t follow the rules… they avoid the poorest of the poor, etc.

To get some more perspective on Armenia’s PRSP, check out this article.

One important thing to know about PRSPs — they are written in the vocabulary of the Millenium Development Goals. Know about those?

By 2015, the entire world is supposed to do these things:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

There were some 2005 goals, but few countries met them. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for 2015.

Want to learn more? Check out the Wikipedia article on PRSP.