Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-5wvtr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T22:53:36.290Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparing formal and informal social protection: a case study exploring the usefulness of informal social protection in Pakistan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2021

Zahid Mumtaz  and
Peter Whiteford
Zahid Mumtaz*
Affiliation:
Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Peter Whiteford
Affiliation:
Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
*
Email: zahid.mumtaz@anu.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In most global south countries, various informal institutions provide welfare to a large segment of the neglected, poor and vulnerable populations through informal social protection. Despite being a major source of welfare in the global south, the usefulness of informal social protection at the household level remains an under-researched area. In this exploratory study, we have determined the usefulness of informal social protection provided through religious institutions, such as madrassas and compared it with formal social protection at the household level utilising the case study of a lower-income country such as Pakistan. A mixed methodology of data collection comprising a survey and semi-structured interviews in 14 different cities of Pakistan of the poor and eligible households for receiving formal social protection was conducted for the research. The results suggest the coverage of informal social protection provided by madrassas is greater than formal social protection. The poor and vulnerable population value and considers it more useful than formal social protection. We conclude that integrating informal and formal social protection would help improve the effectiveness of social policies in developing and less developed countries.

Keywords

Formal and informal social protectionsocial assistancesocial insurancelabour markets measureslow-income countriespovertymadrassas
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , November 2021 , pp. 243 - 272
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Social Policy Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbas, S. A., & Syed, S. H. (2021). Sectarian terrorism in Pakistan: Causes, impact and remedies. Journal of Policy Modeling, 43(2), 350–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abu Sharkh, M., & Gough, I. (2010). Global welfare regimes: A cluster analysis. Global Social Policy, 10(1), 27–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agadjanian, V., & Sen, S. (2007). Promises and challenges of faith-based AIDS care and support in Mozambique. American Journal of Public Health, 97(2), 362–366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Akyüz, Y. (2013). The financial crisis and the global south: a development perspective. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Arnab, R. (2017). Survey sampling theory and applications. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science & Technology.Google Scholar
Asian Development Bank (ADB) (2021). Poverty data: Pakistan, basic statistics, Asia and the Pacific. Available at https://www.adb.org/countries/pakistan/poverty Google Scholar
Banerjee, A. V., & Duflo, E., 2007. The economic lives of the poor. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(1), 141–168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barrientos, A., & Hulme, D. (2008). Social protection for the poor and poorest: An introduction in. In Barrientos, A. & Hulme, D. (Eds.), Social protection for the poor and poorest: Concepts, policies and politics (pp. 3–20). London: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrientos, A., & Hulme, D. (2016). Social protection for the poor and the poorest: An introduction. In Barrientos, A. & Hulme, D. (Eds.), Social protection for the poor and poorest: Concepts, policies and politics (pp. 3–27). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Berkey, J. P. (2010). Madrassas medieval and modern: Politics, education, and the problem of Muslim identity. In Schooling Islam (pp. 40–60). Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bilecen, B., & Sienkiewicz, J. J. (2015). Informal social protection networks of migrants: Typical patterns in different transnational social spaces. Population, Space and Place, 21(3), 227–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brink, P. J., & Wood, M. J. (1998). Exploratory-descriptive designs. In Advanced Design in Nursing Research (2nd ed., pp. 283–286). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Google Scholar
Butt, T. M. (2012). Social and political role of Madrassa: Perspectives of religious leaders in Pakistan. South Asian Studies, 27(2), 387.Google Scholar
Calder, R., & Tanhchareun, T. (2014). Informal social protection: Social relations and cash transfers (Report). Canberra, Australia: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.Google Scholar
Cook, S., & Kabeer, N. (2011). In Cook, S., & Kabeer, N. (Eds.), Social protection as development policy: Asian perspectives (pp 1–28). London; New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cruz-Martínez, G. (2019). Welfare and social protection in contemporary Latin America (p. 8). New York; London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Vaus, D. A. (2014). Surveys in social research (6th ed.). Crows Nest, Australia: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Deacon, B. (2013). Global social policy in the making: The foundations of the social protection floor. Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Dercon, S., Hoddinott, J., Krishnan, P., & Woldehanna, T. (2008). Collective action and vulnerability: Burial societies in rural Ethiopia.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desai, R. M., & Rudra, N. (2019). Trade, poverty, and social protection in developing countries. European Journal of Political Economy, 60, 101744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Devereux, S. (2016). Social protection for enhanced food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Food Policy, 60, 52–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Devereux, S., & Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2004). Transformative social protection. Working paper series, 232. Brighton: IDS.Google Scholar
Dimelu, M. U., Salua, E. S., & Igbokwe, E. M. (2013). Performance of faith-based grassroot non-governmental organisations in rural development in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. International NGO Journal, 8(7), 146–152.Google Scholar
Engel, R. J., & Schutt, R. K. (2014). Fundamentals of social work research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Estevez-Abe, M., Iversen, T., & Soskice, D. (2001). Social protection and the formation of skills: A reinterpretation of the welfare state. In Peter, H. & David, S. (Eds), Varieties of capitalism: The challenges facing contemporary political economies (pp 145–183). Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, K. M., Dortzbach, K., Dyrness, G. R., Dabir, N., & Spruijt-Metz, D. (2008). Faith-based programs and outcomes for street-living youth in Los Angeles, Mumbai and Nairobi: A comparative study. International Social Work, 51(2), 159–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, E. (2005). Faith-based and secular humanitarian organizations. International Review of the Red Cross, 87, 311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerard, F., Imbert, C., & Orkin, K. (2020). Social protection response to the COVID-19 crisis: Options for developing countries. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 36(Suppl 1), S281–S296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghorpade, Y. (2017). Extending a Lifeline or Cutting Losses? The Effects of Conflict on Household Receipts of Remittances in Pakistan. World Development, 99, 230–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haakenstad, A., Johnson, E., Graves, C., Olivier, J., Duff, J., & Dieleman, J. L. (2015). Estimating the development assistance for health provided to faith-based organizations, 1990–2013. PLoS One, 10(6), e0128389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hall, N. P. (1987). Self‐reliance in practice: A study of burial societies in Harare, Zimbabwe. Journal of Social Development in Africa, 2, 49–71.Google Scholar
Hart, C. (2018). Doing a literature review: Releasing the research imagination. pp. 41–50.Google Scholar
Hidrobo, M., Hoddinott, J., Kumar, N., & Olivier, M. (2018). Social protection, food security, and asset formation. World Development, 101, 88–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holzmann, R., & Jorgensen, S. (1999). Social protection as social risk management: Conceptual underpinnings for the social protection sector strategy paper. Journal of International Development, 11, 1005–1027.3.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iqbal, N., & Nawaz, S. (2021). Cash transfers and residential demand for electricity: insights from BISP, Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(12), 14401-14422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11384-w CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Israel, M., & Hay, I. (2006). Research ethics for social scientists. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khalil, U. (2015). The Madrassa Conundrum: State of Religious Education in Pakistan. Karachi: HIVE.Google Scholar
Khan, S. N., & Qutub, S. (2010). The Benazir Income Support Programme and the Zakat Programme: A political economy analysis of gender. London: Overseas Development Institute.Google Scholar
Kidd, S. (2017). Social exclusion and access to social protection schemes. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 9(2), 212–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mangione, T. W. (1995). Mail surveys: Improving the quality (Vol. 40). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Margitic, J., & Ravallion, M. (2019). Lifting the floor? Economic development, social protection and the developing World’s poorest. Journal of Development Economics, 139, 97–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, C., & Tsoka, M. (2012). Cash transfers and children’s education and labour among Malawi’s poor. Development Policy Review, 30(4), 499–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minhaj-ul-Quran . (2018). Achievements. Minhaj-ul- Quran. Available at https://www.minhaj.org/.Google Scholar
Ministry of Finance. (2021). Pakistan economic survey 2018–2019. Islamabad: Government of Pakistan. Available at http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey_1819.html Google Scholar
Mohanty, M. (2012). Informal social protection and social development in Pacific Island countries: Role of NGOs and civil society. Asia-Pacific Development Journal, 18(2), 25–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molina-Millan, T., Barham, T., Macours, K., Maluccio, J. A., Stampini, M. (2016). Long-term impacts of conditional cash transfers in Latin America: Review of the evidence (IDB Working Paper Serial No. IDB-WP-732). Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Monchuk, V. (2014). Reducing poverty and investing in people: The new role of safety nets in Africa. Directions in development. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Mumtaz, Z., & Whiteford, P. (2017). Social safety nets in the development of a welfare system in Pakistan: An analysis of the Benazir Income Support Programme. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, 39(1), 16–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mumtaz, Z. (2021). Informal social protection: A conceptual synthesis. Social Policy &Administration, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12772 Google Scholar
Mustafa, K., & Ali, S. R. (2018). The macroeconomic determinants of remittances in Pakistan. International Journal of Business Management and Finance Research, 1(1), 1-8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nawaz, S., & Iqbal, N. (2020). The impact of unconditional cash transfer on fuel choices among ultra-poor in Pakistan: quasi-experimental evidence from the Benazir income support program. Energy Policy, 142, 111535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111535 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nikolov, P., & Bonci, M. (2020). Do public program benefits crowd out private transfers in developing countries? A critical review of recent evidence. World Development, 134, 104967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nizami, A. T., Hassan, T. M., Yasir, S., Rana, M. H., & Minhas, F. A. (2018). Terrorism in Pakistan: The psychosocial context and why it matters. BJPsych International, 15(1), 20–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oduro, A. D. (2010). Formal and informal social protection in sub‐Saharan Africa (Report). Accra, Ghana: University of Ghana.Google Scholar
Osabohien, R., Onanuga, O., Aderounmu, B., Matthew, O., & Osabuohien, E. (2020). Social protection and employment in Africa’s agricultural sector. Business: Theory and Practice, 21(2), 494–502.Google Scholar
Pal, K., Behrendt, C., Leger, F., Cichon, M., & Hagemejer, K. (2005). Can low-income countries afford basic social protection? First results of a modelling exercise. ILO, Issues in Social Protection Discussion Paper No. 13. International Labour Office Geneva.Google Scholar
Posel, D. B., & Thomson, R. J. (2002). The management of risk by burial societies in South Africa. South African Actuarial Journal, 2(1), 83–128.Google Scholar
Racimora, W. (2013). Salafist/Wahhabite financial support to educational, social and religious institutions. Belgium: Policy Department of Directorate-General for External Policies of the European Union.Google Scholar
Rutherford, S., 2001. The Poor and Their Money (Oxford India Paperbacks).Google Scholar
Stavropoulou, M., Holmes, R., & Jones, N. (2017). Harnessing informal institutions to strengthen social protection for the rural poor. Global Food Security, 12, 73–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stebbins, R. A. (2001). Exploratory research in the social sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swedberg, R. (2020). Exploratory research. The production of knowledge: Enhancing progress in social science, 17–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanzi, V. (2002). Globalization and the future of social protection. Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 49(1), 116–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The World Bank. (2015). The state of social safety nets, 2015. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
The World Bank. (2021). World development indicators. World Bank database. Available at http://www.data.worldbank.orgdatabase Google Scholar
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). (2016). Multidimensional poverty in Pakistan. Islamabad: UNDP. Available at: http://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/library/hiv_aids/Multidimensional-Poverty-in-Pakistan.html Google Scholar
Van Kersbergen, K. and Manow, P. (2010), “Religion”, Chapter 18 in Castles, Francis G., Leibfried, S., Lewis, J., Obinger, H. and Pierson, C. (Editors), The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Van Leeuwen, M. H. (1994). Logic of charity: Poor relief in preindustrial Europe. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 24(4): 589–613.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, G., & Gough, I. (2006). A comparative welfare regime approach to global social policy. World Development, 34(10), 1696–1712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaman, M. Q. (1999). Religious education and the rhetoric of reform: The Madrassa in British India and Pakistan. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 41(2), 294–323.Google Scholar