This rapid literature review examines evidence on poverty, social analysis and the political economy of
Tonga published since 2010. The majority of the literature found through this review has been published
by regional and international organisations, donors, and the Tongan government. There is substantial2 GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report
policy and practitioner literature that examines the Pacific as a region, or small island states as a
particular group. Anthropologist Besnier (2013, p.xviii) warns that much of this research is conducted by
‘fly-in-fly-out’ experts with a ‘minimal’ understanding of the local context. Tonga is an upper-middleincome country (UMIC), without absolute poverty, but with severe environmental and economic
vulnerabilities – therefore the literature tends to focus more on economic and environmental issues than
poverty per se.
There is not a great deal of academic work published on individual Pacific island countries but there are a
few select areas – such as remittances – that are well researched in both academia and practitioner
literature. There is also a body of anthropological literature that focuses on Tonga. There are some
research institutes and academics that have a strong Pacific focus. A list of key sources of information on
Tonga is provided in the appendices.