Lahore School of Economics

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Social Protection and Human Development: Two Programs in Pakistan
March 21, 2013

Dr Ijaz Nabi

Pakistan has launched a far reaching social protection programs. The federal government’s Benazir Income Support Program has, at its core, an unconditional cash grant for the poorest households. Responding to the concern that this runs the risk of creating a large pool of permanent government handouts, the federal government has also launched an ambitious skills development program. At the provincial level, the government of Punjab is implementing skills development as social welfare in the four poorest Southern Punjab districts. The paper discusses the structure of the two programs, their success at reaching the poor and the monitoring challenges to assess their overall effectiveness.

About the presenter:

Dr Ijaz Nabi is Professor of Economics and Dean, School of Humanities Social Sciences and Law at Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is also member of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Chief Minister Punjab’s advisory Council and the Monetary Policy Committee of the State Bank of Pakistan. In October 2009, he was appointed Pakistan Country Director, International Growth Center, a policy research consortium of London School of Economics and Oxford University.

Dr. Nabi returned to Pakistan in 2008 after 22 years at the World Bank in Washington where he worked on Mexico, Korea, Thailand (leading the World Bank team during the East Asian financial crisis), Malaysia, Laos and Myanmar. In 2002-2008, he was Manager, Economic Policy, for South Asia region at the World Bank. Dr Nabi has published extensively on economic growth, investment and finance, industrialization, international trade and labor markets in developing countries.

Labels: Management of Pakistan Economy