Poverty and social exclusion have moved up the international policy agenda, in step with the increasingly obvious failure of development to reduce mass poverty and the rowing gulf of inequality which latter-day capitalism has created. Looking at the issues involved, and specific investigations in particular countries--mainly in Southern and Central Africa--the contributors to Poverty Reduction explore difficult questions about how much can be expected from the state to reduce poverty. They acknowledge that the "trickle down" and "natural" processes do not provide a remedy. They provide a rich stream of up-to-date information on the incidence and forms of poverty in Southern and Central Africa, and the great variety of government strategies and programs that attempt to tackle the issue.