The Role of Social Protection on Poverty Alleviation Through Targeted Subsidies in the Welfare Sector
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69812/ijsps.v2i3.147Keywords:
Social Protection, Targeted Subsidies, Poverty Alleviation, Welfare SectorAbstract
Poverty remains a persistent challenge in Pakistan, where structural inequality, social vulnerability, and fiscal constraints continue to limit the effectiveness of welfare interventions. This study examines how social protection contributes to poverty alleviation through targeted subsidies in Pakistan’s welfare sector, with particular attention to the direct effects of social protection and targeted subsidies and the mediating role of subsidies in this relationship. A quantitative explanatory design was employed using purposive sampling. Data were collected through structured questionnaires from 303 respondents drawn from key welfare institutions and beneficiary groups, including BISP, Ehsaas, Zakat, and Bait-ul-Mal programs. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) to test the hypothesized direct and indirect relationships among social protection, targeted subsidies, and poverty alleviation. The findings show that social protection has a strong positive effect on targeted subsidies and a significant direct effect on poverty alleviation. Targeted subsidies also have a significant positive effect on poverty alleviation and partially mediate the relationship between social protection and poverty alleviation. These results indicate that broad social protection frameworks are more effective when translated into well-targeted subsidy mechanisms. The study concludes that integrated, transparent, and accurately targeted welfare policies can strengthen poverty reduction outcomes and offers practical guidance for policymakers seeking more effective and inclusive social protection systems in developing contexts while improving program delivery, institutional trust, and sustainability of national welfare reforms.
Downloads
References
Alghizzawi, M., Hussain, Z., Abualfalayeh, G., Abu-AlSondos, I. A., Alqsass, M., & Chehaimi, E. M. (2025). The impact of AI-driven strategy on salespeople training and performance. International Review of Management and Marketing, 15(2), 1.
Alzboon, M. S., Al-Batah, M., Alqaraleh, M., Abuashour, A., & Bader, A. F. (2023a, November). A comparative study of machine learning techniques for early prediction of prostate cancer. In 2023 IEEE Tenth International Conference on Communications and Networking (ComNet) (pp. 1–12). IEEE.
Alzboon, M. S., Bader, A. F., Abuashour, A., Alqaraleh, M. K., Zaqaibeh, B., & Al-Batah, M. (2023b, November). The two sides of AI in cybersecurity: Opportunities and challenges. In 2023 International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Next Generation Networks (ICNGN) (pp. 1–9). IEEE.
Aprianti, Y., & Gaffar, E. U. A. (2025). Regional fiscal policy and the phenomenon of poverty in Indonesia. Jurnal Pendidikan Ekonomi dan Bisnis (JPEB), 13(01), 51–66.
Banerjee, A., Hanna, R., Olken, B. A., & Lisker, D. S. (2024). Social protection in the developing world. Journal of Economic Literature, 62(4), 1349–1421.
Dharma, B. (2024). Architecture of the Indonesia welfare state: The reflection of 20 years of Indonesia reformation era. Jurnal Kesejahteraan dan Pelayanan Sosial, 5(1), 68–82.
Farooq, K. (2025). Status of social security programs in Pakistan: A social work perspective. Competitive Research Journal Archive, 3(01), 296–305.
Gunhidzirai, C., & Rankopo, M. J. (2025). Governance of social protection programmes for poverty alleviation in Botswana. Journal of Social Development in Africa, 40(1), 137–169.
Hussain, Z., & Mari, A. K. (2023). Legal protection of customer privacy on e-commerce: A comparative study of Iranian and American law. International Journal of Marketing, Communication and New Media, (12).
Kangasniemi, M., Bhalla, G., Knowles, M., Pereira, K. C., & Gentilini, U. (2025). The role of social protection in achieving resilient and inclusive rural transformation. Global Food Security, 44, 100836.
Kiendrebeogo, Y., Assimaidou, K., & Tall, A. (2017). Social protection for poverty reduction in times of crisis. Journal of Policy Modeling, 39(6), 1163–1183.
Khan, A., Hamid, A. B. A., Saad, N. M., Hussain, Z., & Arif, A. R. (2023). Effectiveness of artificial intelligence in building customer loyalty: Investigating the mediating role of chatbot in the tourism sector of Pakistan. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(9), 657–671.
Lamido, U. A., Menson, A. E., Nkom, J., Garba, S. B., & Audu, D. (2025). An assessment of the effect of social protection interventions on poverty reduction in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Journal of Arid Zone Economy, 5(6), 32–45.
Mari, I. H., & Hussain, Z. (2021). Climate change in Pakistan: Govt efforts to reduce the climat change threats. European Journal of Innovation in Nonformal Education, 1(1), 1.
Orunbon, N. O., & Adeleke, A. A. (2024). Getting poverty to zero in Nigeria through the lens of social protection programmes. Educational Perspectives, 12(2), 105–114.
Pattanayak, S. K., & Dubey, P. (2025). Impact of social protection on gender equality. In Thriving Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies (pp. 113–126). Apple Academic Press.
Popova, D. (2023). Impact of equity in social protection spending on income poverty and inequality. Social Indicators Research, 169(1), 697–721.
Rassanjani, S., Harakan, A., Pintobtang, P., & Jermsittiparsert, K. (2019). Social protection system to reduce poverty in a natural resource rich country: Towards the success of the sustainable development goals. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 7(8), 104–126.
Razavi, S., Behrendt, C., Nesterenko, V., Orton, I., Bista, C. P., Chaves, A. R., … & Wodsak, V. (2022). Building universal social protection systems for all: What role for targeting? Global Social Policy, 22(3), 449–463.
Zhao, X., & Wang, J. S. H. (2025). Familisation and defamilisation processes of social safety net: Low-income families’ welfare participation experiences in Shanghai and Taipei. International Social Work, 00208728251319496.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Rizwan Ahmed
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
