PEI In Practice. Moving Up the Ladder: Economic Inclusion of Safety Net Recipients in Bangladesh

S. Amer Ahmed, Jumana Alaref, Mehtab Azam, Nazia Moqueet and Jyotirmoy Saha

ABSTRACT

In Bangladesh, economic inclusion programs are primarily  implemented by civil society organizations. Yet, the government has an opportunity to leverage its strong and expansive social safety net (SSN) system. This report examines three groups of SSN beneficiaries in Bangladesh - working-age widows, people with disabilities, and households with young children - to understand their potential to benefit from economic inclusion programming. Authors describes the socioeconomic characteristics of these three groups and identifies gaps in their access and coverage by main social protection programs; presents findings on their potential to benefit from economic inclusion programming; and examines the factors that need to be in place for economic inclusion programs to succeed. Finally, the report provides recommendations on how the government can build capacity to implement economic inclusion at scale in Bangladesh.