Thematic Frameworks for Macro Analysis

Macro-level analysis typically focuses on three broad areas in the analysis:

1. Broader trends: Defined as the long-term contextual factors in a country which include economic and social development trends, demographic shifts, the political system, or the drivers of conflict or peace (that is, the level of state ‘fragility’);
2. Country institutions: These can be formal in the sense of the types of rules, policies and laws in a country (such as the Constitution) and more informal in the sense of political, social and cultural norms which define what is, and what is not, acceptable behavior for women and men, girls and boys in a given society; and
3. Actors (or agents): These are the actors who, at the national level, are key players in shaping the direction of social and economic development and include political leaders, political parties, CSOs etc. and external actors such as donor agencies  or multinational corporations. Considering actors, it is also important to see whose interests are not represented (by gender, ethnicity, etc.), and what strategies or coalitions exist to raise their voices.

These are each applied across each thematic area of inquiry.

Key dimensions for analysis include:

• Governance and political economy
• Gender
• Demographic, social and economic development
• Social and cultural norms
• Disaster risk, vulnerability and capacity
• Conflict
• Policy Analysis

Given the deliberate breadth of possibilities for inquiry under any one of these categories, Country Office teams need to determine the scope of their research by reflecting on their own experience and knowledge base. Once a diagnosis is made of the most critical information gaps, teams should prioritize the key research questions for the macro-level analysis. Consider:

• What do we need to get us where we want to go?
• What must we know before we can identify impact groups and then understand issues they face?
• How can we learn what drives their poverty and what opportunities exist to positively influence change in their lives?

 

Conducting Macro Analysis

Macro analysis should be informed by research design, its purpose and its guiding questions to ensure that the study remains focused.

Macro analysis can involve a range of methods from literature review, policy analysis, key informant interviews, institutional mapping and an analysis of latest government or international figures or statistics about the broader context. For each area of analysis, sources must be reviewed for rigor, reliability and validity.

Wherever possible, the elements used in analysis should be disaggregated:

• Spatially (e.g. national, provincial, and district), as well as
• By sex and age, where such data are available.

Though such data is not always easy to come by and depends on the research done, data should as much as possible be sought for characteristics across:

• Household status (female/child headed households, single or married individuals, widows(ers), etc.).
• Socio-economic characteristics (ethnicity, race, religion, class/wealth, caste, religion),
• Occupation (pastoralists, agriculturalists, sex workers, migrant laborers), as well as
• Sexual orientation, etc., where relevant.

Analysis should also cover past and current trends to understand potential directions in future, when possible. The vulnerability of population groups shifts up and down, depending on the drivers (e.g., conflict), and one must aim to predict how the situation may change in the medium- and long-term.