Politics and Poverty: Counting the costs

This paper offers an entrée into the discussion with the argument that politics have a cost in development these costs can be political, economic, social or even emotional, as well as psychological. To this end, the paper attempts to locate the intersection between politics and poverty and poses the question: “Do politics matter?” This paper is based on a desk-top study and used mainly secondary data. The paper has theoretical significance as it unmasks the role that politics play in the poverty discourse. This paper falls within the broad theme: Public policies and politics. In particular, it posits a framework for understanding the link between politics and poverty. The framework is this paper’s major contribution.