Social policy and poverty: an introduction

This Guest Editorial introduces the context and main themes around which this collection of articles on social policy and poverty is framed. Against the backdrop of calls for accelerated progress towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in a context of multiple crises, the role of social policy for social development and poverty reduction is highlighted. Three key themes are addressed by the five contributions in the collection: (1) the role of social protection, in particular cash transfers, in poverty reduction; (2) the importance of labour markets and labour market policies for poverty reduction; and (3) the financing of welfare policies. The guest editors conclude that social protection policies should be grounded in values of social justice and human rights, which calls for strong state commitment towards universal programmes. They further point to the need of institutionalising long-term social policies that benefit from broad-based political support and are grounded in sustainable financing mechanisms.