Impact of Social Safety Net Program on Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh : Social Safety Net, Household Welfare And Poverty Reduction

Among the poor, women are considered the more vulnerable. Widowed, divorced or discarded by the husband is a common phenomenon among the rural poor. The government has thus introduced special SSN program to protect them. The two-year Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) program is the largest SSN program that provides in-kind transfer with development programs for selected women-headed poor family to help them get out of the poverty. This study was an attempt to provide evidence using household survey data on whether the VGD program improves beneficiary household welfare and reduces poverty. The study found that the number of participants in the program is negatively related to the poverty rate as well as the probability of falling below the poverty line. Besides, this book shades light on how the VGD program improves well-being of the targeted people. Therefore, this book will guide the development policy makers who are working on poverty issue.