Rejoinder

I want to begin by thanking Göran Holmqvist and Karin Metell Cueva for financing (on behalf of Sida) our independent research of the PRS processes in Latin America in the first place, and now in particular for taking up the challenge to respond to my doubts and criticisms of the PRS approach. They recognise that this approach has been too optimistic and, in particular, that too many goals have been attached to one single instrument. The proposal they put forward is interesting and worth discussing. I share their concerns about the continuing poverty and inequality in Latin America and agree that donors should focus their efforts on trying to reduce them. But I wonder whether their proposed solution to the shortcomings of the PRS approach is really so different from current practice.