Poverty and Sustainable Livelihoods

Malawi remains one of the world's poorest countries, with the majority of households dependent on rain-fed subsistence agriculture and exposed to recurrent shocks — drought, flooding, and volatile input and food prices. Under this theme, CSR studies both the structural drivers of poverty and the effectiveness of the policies and programmes designed to address it.

Much of this work centres on Malawi's social protection architecture, particularly the Social Cash Transfer Programme, alongside agricultural input subsidies, food security interventions, and asset-building programmes such as Food for Assets. CSR researchers combine household panel data, cost-benefit analysis, and mixed-methods fieldwork to assess not just whether these programmes work, but for whom, and at what cost relative to their impact.

This theme is closely aligned with Malawi's Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III), the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals — particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) — and the long-term ambitions of the Malawi 2063 vision. As with all of CSR's research, findings are shared directly with government ministries, UN agencies, and NGO partners to inform programme design and targeting.