It is inherently difficult to identify how widely political economy analysis (PEA) is used to support economic and private sector (EPS) programming for a number of reasons.
PEA is one of a number of factors that can influence programming and implementation and it is difficult to state categorically that a PEA had a definitive impact on reforms. It is also likely that there are a large number of PEAs which are undertaken internally in donor, and other, organisations. These can impact on the choice and type of policy and institutional reforms, but this decision process would not be visible externally.
This helpdesk report looks firstly at the range of tools and approaches that relate to PEA and identifies those most relevant to EPS reform. A quick mapping of key bilateral and multilateral donors shows which tools are favoured or have been produced by different donors and how they are being used. The final section outlines a number of case studies were authors have concluded that PEA has impacted on EPS reform.
