Graduation from poverty in a changing and fragile world
IFPRI and Mercy Corps researchers will share more insights on graduation models in fragile contexts, with reflections from a panel of experts, at a policy seminar on January 21, 2026—both in person at our Washington, D.C. office and online. Join us for the discussion!
By Jeeyon Kim and Jessica LeightJanuary 13, 2026
IFPRI and Mercy Corps researchers will share more insights on graduation models in fragile contexts, with reflections from a panel of experts, at a policy seminar on January 21, 2026—both in person at our Washington, D.C. office and online. Join us for the discussion!
The global poverty landscape is increasingly shaped by conflict, climate shocks, displacement, and market disruptions—forces that are concentrating extreme poverty in the most fragile settings. At the same time, humanitarian and development financing is under pressure, heightening the need for scalable and cost-effective approaches to poverty reduction. Graduation models—multifaceted interventions designed to help extremely poor households to “graduate” from poverty—are emerging as a particularly promising response in this context.
These models typically combine several components, including cash transfers, asset provision, livelihoods training, and in some cases household coaching, and are among the most rigorously evaluated and successful interventions in international development.[1] When implemented with sufficient intensity, they can improve household welfare trajectories across several dimensions with impacts that persist over the medium and long term. Their central premise is to provide a “big push” over a relatively short period, enabling households to escape chronic poverty.