This mixed record calls into question the efficacy of conventional poverty-reduction policies, often identified with the Washington Consensus, which transformed the discourse on poverty in the 1980’s. Washington Consensus reforms – including macroeconomic stabilization (defined as low-single-digit inflation) and market liberalization – were supposed to reduce poverty by accelerating economic growth.
这样复杂的状况对以《华盛顿共识》为代表的传统扶贫政策效率提出了质疑，20世纪80年代《共识》改变了扶贫事业的走向。包括宏观经济稳定（被界定为个位数低通胀）和市场自由化在内的《华盛顿共识》被人们寄以加速经济增长、摆脱贫困的厚望。