Safety Net, Social Protection, and Sustainable Poverty Reduction: A Review of the Evidences and Arguments for Developing Countries

Abstract

Since the publication of the World Development Report 1990, diverse views have been forwarded by different institutions and agencies about the role of social protection programs in addressing persistent poverty in the developing countries. This paper reviews the existing evidences and arguments about the impacts of such programs in the developing countries. Most of the literatures have recognized the positive impact of such programs especially on poverty and inequality, school enrollment and drop-out, and better nutrition and health outcomes. However, a major concern about these programs is related to the sustainability of their impacts, i.e., the impacts on growth and long term living standards. While the linkages between social protection and growth in the developed countries have focused cross-country empirical evidences, another view holds that such an approach is unsuitable for the developing countries given the lack of reliable data. With regard to the role of these programs in raising long term living standards, the existing evidences are mixed – some studies have recognized their role while there are skeptical views also. So as to address the structural cause of poverty, few studies have attempted to follow an anti-poverty policy bifurcation, with social protection focusing on transient and asset transfer on chronic poverty. However, the feasibility of policy bifurcation has been challenged also, and as such it has been suggested to map out a broader social protection framework that would take into account factors beyond risk and vulnerability to address both chronic and transient poverty.