Social protection, caste and ethnicity in Nepal

Social protection programmes in Nepal have increased significantly in the past two decades, but are they the programmes for change that they claim to be?

Do the social transfers involved help in reducing forms of inequality or do they reproduce existing hierarchies and dominant social and economic interests?

Are the changes introduced sustainable and if so, for whom?

This Working Paper takes up the experiences in Nepal with its complex caste and ethnic structures. It considers the possibility that these programmes might be reproducing existing social hierarchies and thereby run counter to the aims and objectives that they are designed to pursue.