Sustainable Escapes from Poverty through Productive Inclusion

Chiara Mariotti, Martina Ulrichs, Luke Harman

ABSTRACT

This policy guide opens up new ground in reviewing the contribution of social protection programmes in facilitating sustained escapes from poverty through the productive inclusion of poor individuals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS). The overarching question to which it seeks to respond is: what are the key features of existing programmes that allow poor people to sustainably escape from poverty in a cost-effective and scalable way? To answer this question, this policy guide looks at evidence from social protection programmes with innovative designs that combine different interventions, either following a graduation approach or by building integrated social protection systems. This comparative approach is new and offers insights for policy-makers seeking to design integrated social protection systems that fulfil protective and preventive functions as well as maximise their promotive and transformative potential in order to lift people out of poverty in a sustained way