Learning from Diversity: Social Protection Programs in South Africa and Malawi

Literature has shunned away from the relational (linkages between various elements/people of the program) and symbolic (responses/interpretations based on significant symbols) dimensions of the impact of the SCT's in Malawi. Despite the promising results of the SCTP, MacAuslan and Riemenschneider (2011) have argued that impact assessment studies should go beyond material factors. Impact studies should be related to the symbolic and relational dimensions defined in the network. In this context, this research will explore the conceptualization and implementation of poverty from administrators, implementers, all the way to beneficiaries' perspectives. How this then plays a crucial role in shaping sustainable poverty reduction initiatives. The relationship between successful targeting and poverty reduction, putting the paper in the relational and symbolic dimensions of the social cash transfer system in Malawi.