Impact of Social Protection Programs on Inclusive Growth through Poverty Alleviation: A Study on Some Asian Countries

Abstract

Inclusive growth is a buzzword among all nations. Poverty alleviation programmes are vital part of inclusive growth. Hence, the potential role of social protection in the development process has received heightened recognition in recent years. Poverty alleviation through government schemes or programmes is an important part of all nations’ inclusive growth. The explanation of social protection has varied across different development agencies, namely the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Labour Organization (ILO), etc. But the basic thrust of such definitions has involved what the Asian Development Bank (ADB) described in its 2001 Social Protection Strategy as enabling ‘vulnerable groups to prevent, reduce and/or cope with risks’ (ADB, 2001). Hence, it is vital to stress that social protection can help or cover vulnerable non-poor vis-á-vis poor groups. In some cases, such as in East Asia, the poor benefit more from social assistance (SA). This is attributable, no doubt, to the impact of cash- or food-for-work programs (ADB, 2009). This chapter seeks to determine or identify the impact of Social Protection Index (SPI) on inclusive growth through poverty alleviation in a few Asian countries using secondary data (ADB, 2009, 2016, 2019) on government social protection programs in some countries in Asia. It is obtained that the impact of components of SPI, such as social insurance (SI) programs, SA programs and labour market programs (LMP), is playing a vital role in eradication of poverty and attaining inclusive growth.

Citation

Chakraborty, S., Panda, R. and Aich, A.C. (2023), "Impact of Social Protection Programs on Inclusive Growth through Poverty Alleviation: A Study on Some Asian Countries", Das, R.C. (Ed.) Inclusive Developments Through Socio-economic Indicators: New Theoretical and Empirical Insights, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 169-178. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-554-520231013