Discussions Among the Poor: Exploring Poverty Dynamics With Focus Groups in Bangladesh

Findings from 116 focus group discussions are presented, which took place in eleven districts in Bangladesh in mid-2006. It forms the first part of three phases of research in an integrated qualitative and quantitative study into poverty dynamics currently being undertaken by the author and partners from the CPRC, IFPRI and DATA Bangladesh. The central purpose of the focus group discussions was to inform subsequent phases of the research by exploring reasons perceived by participants for decline or improvement in people’s well-being in their communities, and the hindrances to improvement for the chronically poor [CPRC WP No. 84].