Economic Development

According to Khanum (2000) the RMP enables the poor women to gain and preserve assts. About 33% of the women were able to buy homestead, 18% purchased arable land, 33% have livestock, and 75% owned poultry and 65% have some kind of jewelry. Findings by Khanum (2000) show that the RMP has brought about significant changes in the lives of the women. Ali (1992) conducted an evaluation of VGD and found that a large number of destitute women and children are being reached by this program. According to Hasemi(1996) between (28-52)% of the beneficiaries think that the program has a positive impact on their personal income.

Another Bids study (BIDS, 2003) shows that the RMP, VGD and FFE programs play an effective role in the alleviation of rural poverty. This study also revealed some leakages in these programs. They found that the FSSAP and FFE programs have an impact on large term development by fostering human capital formation through increasing the primary enrollments rate, promoting school attendance and reducing the dropout rate. Ahmed and Del Ninno (2000) also find that attendance rate for FFE schools were 10% higher than for non FFE schools and dropout rates were just about 6% compared to 15% for non beneficiaries in FFE schools and non FFE school.

Another study by Ahmed (2005) shows that 69.80% VGD women faced problem of some form by being selected into the program. This program was less in case of PESP at about 27.7% and in the case of RMP at about 26.2%. About 90% VGD, 40% PESP and 37.5% RMP beneficiaries reported that they receive less than endowed benefit.

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From the analysis of the existing studies, the following gaps in our consideration of the safety net programs under study are obvious. First, no study has so far estimated how much of the target group population have been covered by the safety nets programs like old age allowance and the program for allowance to the widowed and husband distressed women. Secondly it is assumed by a...