Social Protection: The Impact on Multidimensional Poverty in Ethiopia, India, and Peru

Three large-scale social protection schemes - the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) in Ethiopia; the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in India; and the Juntos conditional cash transfer program in Peru - have led to a reduction in both the incidence and intensity of multidimensional poverty in all three countries between 2006 and 2016. New research that analyzes data from Young Lives, longitudinal study of the changing nature of childhood poverty, finds positive short-term effects of the programs on household asset formation, livestock holdings, school attendance, and some indicators of living standards. Program effects were sustained into the longer term.