Using Systems Thinking to reach the Poor through Markets

Abstract

Following the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda of ‘leave no one behind’, this article argues for a new way of thinking about markets andthe private sector that addresses these new challenges. It introduces market systems development (MSD) as a new approach for engaging with the private sector using complexity and systems thinking. By understanding better the role and limits of market-based approaches, policy actors will be better able to select strategies to create an appropriate institutional environment that shapes how the private sector and other actors operate for the benefit of vulnerable target groups.