Big push pro-poor policies and economic circumstances: Reality, perceptions and attitudes

Working paper 28 Apr 2025 Sustainable Growth, State Effectiveness and Inclusive Growth

This working paper examines the effects of big push pro-poor interventions – via one-time asset or cash transfers – in rural Punjab, Pakistan. Using a randomised experiment tracking 15,000 households over four years, it finds persistent economic gains and reduced inequality but limited and fading impacts on households’ perceptions and redistributive attitudes.