Social Safety Nets and Poverty in Pakistan (A Case Study of BISP in Tehsil Mankera District Bhakkar)

Syed M. Muddassir Abbas Naqvi^1, , Hazoor Muhammad Sabir¹, Anisa Shamim¹ and Muhammad Tariq²

¹Department of Economics, G.C University, Faisalabad, Pakistan

²Ayub Agricultural research institute, Faisalabad Pakistan

Cite this paper:
Syed M. Muddassir Abbas Naqvi, Hazoor Muhammad Sabir, Anisa Shamim and Muhammad Tariq. Social Safety Nets and Poverty in Pakistan (A Case Study of BISP in Tehsil Mankera District Bhakkar). Journal of Finance and Economics. 2014; 2(2):44-49. doi: 10.12691/jfe-2-2-1

Abstract

Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is an important safety net among the poverty reduction strategies. Although, cash transfer of PKR1000 per month cannot change the whole social status of the people in this era of rising inflation and frequently increasing oil prices, yet it provides some relief for daily household expenditures (especially food, education and health expenditures) for the poorest of the poor families. Primary data of 156 households (3.44 % of the beneficiaries’ households, which is equivalent to 0.58 % of the total population of the Tehsil), was collected from all the 7 union councils of Tehsil Mankera, District Bhakkar through proportionate sampling. The data was analyzed through SPSS for frequency distribution and Chow’s test was applied to check the structural stability in the social status of the beneficiaries before and after the program. The results showed that there was a structural stability in the life of the BISP beneficiaries after the program was started and their expenditure and thus consumption patterns had also increased. This improvement in consumption pattern means progress in the welfare of the beneficiary population which shows there is a trend towards reducing poverty.

Keywords:
BISP poverty welfare of the people trend in reduction of poverty

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	BISP (2011) Benazir Income Support Programme. Concept Paper. Islamabad: BISP Secretariat, Pakistan.
[2]	Booysen,F (2004)Social Grants as Safety Net for HIV/AIDS affected households in South Africa. Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance, 1(1).
[3]	Case, A and Deaton, A (1992) Large Cash Transfers to the Elderly in South Africa. NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES, Working Paper 5572.
[4]	Devereux, S (2002) Can Social Safety Nets Reduce Chronic Poverty? Development Policy Review, 20(5): 657-675.
[5]	Duflo (2003) Grandmothers and Grand-daughters: Old-Age Pensions and Intrahousehold Allocation in South Africa. The World Bank Economic Review, 17(1): 1-25.
[6]	Hicks, N. and Q. Wodon. (2000) Economic Shocks, Safety Nets, and Fiscal Constraints: Social Protection for the Poor in Latin America, Policy Research Working Paper 5865.
[7]	Imai, K (2003) The Employment Guarantee Scheme as a Social safety Net-Poverty Dynamics and Poverty Alleviation. DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES.
[8]	Irfan,M. (2003) Poverty and Social Safety Nets: A Case Study of Pakistan. Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. (MIMAP TECHNICAL PAPER SERIES NO.15).
[9]	Jalan, J and Ravallion, M (2003) Estimating the Benefit Incidence of an Antipoverty Program by Propensity-Score Matching. Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 2(1).
[10]	Khokhar, M.D, History of Mankera State, Malik Dost Muhammad Khokhar Publishers, Bhakkar, 1988.
[11]	Miankhail, S (2009) Causes and Consequences of Poverty in Pakistan. Journal of Managerial Sciences, 2(1).
[12]	Ministry of Finance (2012) Economic Survey 2011-12. Islamabad: Government of Pakistan.
[13]	Maluccio, J and Flores, R (2004) Impact Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfer Program: The Nicaraguan Red De Proteccion Social. FCND DISCUSSION PAPER NO.184.
[14]	Nayyab,D. and Farooq,S.(2012)Effectiveness of Cash Transfer Programmes for Household Welfare in Pakistan: The Case of the Benazir Income Support Programme. Islamabd: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (Poverty and Social Dynamics Paper Series PSDPS: 4).
[15]	Nino, C and Dorosh, P (2002) In-Kind Transfers and Household Food Consumption: Implications for Targeted Food Programs in Bangladesh. FCND DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 134.
[16]	Ravallion, M et al (1994) Testing a social safety net. Journal of Public Economics, 57(1995), 175-199.
[17]	Schultz, T (2001) School Subsidies for the Poor: Evaluating the Mexican Progresa Poverty Program. CENTER DISCUSSION PAPER NO.834.
[18]	Wale (2003) Testing Vietnam’s Public Safety Net. Social Protection Discussion Paper Series No. 0319.