Could political economy analysis have saved Indonesia’s palm oil pledge?

Peter Stanbury-Davis, principal of Frontier Practice, talks with Toby Webb about how thinking about political economy can help business engage with the motivations of local peoples in areas of deforestation and landuse-change risk.

In this context, they discuss why the Indonesian palm oil pledge – IPOP – ceased working, and some of the underlying misunderstandings that may have led to its demise. Using a political economy analysis approach may well eliminate some of the unintended consequences of actions, however well-meaning they may be.