The journey out of poverty is not necessarily a smooth one. While some households move out of poverty, others slip into poverty and yet others escape poverty only to return to living in it again. Ending extreme poverty, and staying there, requires not just improving the conditions of households currently living in poverty but also preventing those living just above the poverty line from falling into it.

This Policy Guide focuses on role of social protection policies and programmes in preventing households from falling into poverty or in preventing their impoverishment. In doing this, it:

- Brings together evidence about the drivers of impoverishment and the role and effectiveness of social protection in preventing descents into poverty;
- Provides guidance for national policy-makers, their donors and other development partners on the design and implementation features of social protection policies, programmes and allied investments in order to minimise the likelihood of people falling into poverty

The guide also investigates how, or through which transmission channels, social protection (specifically social assistance and social insurance) can minimise the likelihood of people falling into poverty. 

From the outset, the guide highlights the potential trade-offs that policy-makers, programme designers and implementers face in using social protection with the specific objective of preventing impoverishment. 

Authors: Lucy Scott and Vidya Diwakar

Click below to download: 

• Full Policy guide - English

• Full Policy guide - Spanish

• Executive Summary - French

CPAN has recently produced another policy guide on 'Sustainable escapes from poverty through productive inclusion'. Click here to access it.