ABSTRACT
Social protection in Pakistan was characterised, until recently, by low fiscal outlays, limited outreach, weak targeting, fragmented policies and programmes, and the absence of positive linkages with processes of empowerment and citizenship (Kabeer et al. 2010; Sayeed 2004; NSPS 2007; Government of Pakistan 2009; Koehler et al. 2009; World Bank 2006). The introduction in 2008 of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), a flagship cash transfer programme of the federal government, was seen as a significant moment (Gazdar 2011). This chapter examines BISP as a case of successful social protection reform in Pakistan that provides a vantage point for the political economy of reform with respect to a range of issues, including redistributive transfers, regional and urban–rural differences, organisational capacity of government, and representative politics. The first section outlines a framework for a political economy analysis of social protection reform. The second section provides an overview of social protection in Pakistan to place recent changes in their historical context. The third section returns to the bigger picture of economic reforms, and highlights key areas of success and failure with respect to social protection. The final section identifies the key political economy factors connected with reform successes and failures.
