Empowering Women through Social Safety Nets: Evidence from the Benazir Income Support Program in District Bhakkar

Abstract

Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is the biggest Cash Transfer Program in Pakistan, and was supposed to enhance the condition of the poor, especially women empowerment. The current quantitative study assessed the effects of BISP to empower women in Bhakkar district. To this extent, the collection of primary data on the basis of 320 households through self-administered questionnaires spread over the four tehsils of Bhakkar district i.e. Bhakkar, Darya Khan, Mankera and Kallur Kot. The research was used to estimate the effects Average Treatment on the Treated (ATT) in the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method. Empirical results suggest that the positive effects of BISP cash grants on the Labour Force are highly significant in women employment, their holdings in cash, enrolment of girls in school, and right to vote of women. This study can offer great insights when it comes to how BISP should influence household welfare and social-economic growth by focusing on women within social safety nets, which can be of great help to policymakers that want to make the best out of cash transfer programs in such environments.