About SPDC
Established in 1995, the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), a non-profit research think tank, has made a significant intellectual contribution in placing issues of pro-poor growth and social development on Pakistan's policy-making agenda. With a focus on issues of development, poverty, inequality, governance, social sector policies, climate, gender issues, and pro-poor macro-economic policy, it contributes to the na Read more...
Latest Arrivals
Profiling Rural Pakistan for Poverty, Inequality and Social Exclusion
Although poverty in urban areas is substantial and increasing, global poverty is still predominantly a rural phenomenon. According to IFAD (2011), about 70 per cent of the world’s very poor people – around one billion – are r...
The Privatization Program
Pakistan is about to embark once again on a major round of privatization of a wide range of state assets after a gap of six years. This paper analyses the major issues in the context of the proposed privatization program and gives key recommen...
School Participation in Rural Pakistan: A Situation Analysis
The study highlights the major characteristics of schooling in rural Pakistan by providing a situation analysis in terms of access, equality and quality of education. A cohort-wise analysis for primary and secondary levels is carried out to lo...
The State of Social Development in Rural Pakistan
In a comparative and empirical study of the state of social development in rural Pakistan, SPDC’s latest Annual Review, the twelfth in the series, explains how the social sector has fared, particularly, after the promulgation of the 18th...
Ongoing Research
Gender and Social Vulnerability to Climate Change
A Study of Disaster Prone Areas in Sindh:
The research project on ‘Gender and Social Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Study of Disaster Prone Areas in Sindh’ is being carried out by SPDC under a research grant by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. Partial funding for the project has also been provided by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Pakistan. It is a three-year project that started on March 01, 2012. The study is part of IDRC’s Research project entitled, Climate Change Adaptation, Water and Food Security in Pakistan Read More
Annual Review of Social Development in Pakistan
SPDC publishes thematic annual reviews of social development in Pakistan, its flagship product that presents an objective, in-depth examination and analyses of various social issues. Each year, key areas and topics for research are identified keeping in view the national and international priorities and events. To date, twelve annual reviews have been published and work on the thirteenth entitled ‘State of Social Development in Urban Pakistan’ has been initiated.
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