Socioeconomic Profile of Sustainable Livelihood Program Participants: Evidence from a Household Survey

---

The Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) is a livelihood assistance program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development targeting working-age members of poor households. The study draws insights on the socioeconomic profile of SLP target beneficiaries using survey data covering 2,160 households with a member that participated in SLP during the survey period of August 2018 to March 2019. The survey was conducted as part of an experimental impact evaluation of enhancements in the SLP process. A descriptive analysis of the data is presented after giving an overview of the SLP and the design of the evaluation. The study finds that sample households are largely poor or near-poor, and, on average, derive most of their income from salaries and wages. Sample households also have limited formal borrowing and savings. Furthermore, female spouses who are not in the labor force or are employed but underemployed comprise the majority of potential beneficiaries. These findings suggest that SLP attracts economically inactive or underemployed female members of poor households seeking self-employment to augment household income while maintaining time to perform housework.