Summaries This article analyses how the strategies conceptualised by anti‐poverty policymakers in international institutions are transferred into national‐level policies in developing countries. The Mexican government's anti‐poverty policy over the last three administrations is taken as a case study to highlight the various international and national factors that influence national policy design. It exemplifies how national policies might share parallels with the strategies outlined at the international level, while they also have special features which are context specific. The Mexican case provides insights into the strengths and limitations of national anti‐poverty policies which follow the rationale of international conventional wisdom.