Webinar Recording now available - Intersections of Corruption and Welfare: Power, Access and Inequality

The recording of the SOC ACE webinar by Dr Zahid Mumtaz and Dr Caryn Peiffer - Intersections of Corruption and Welfare: Power, Access, and Inequality is now available here.

They discussed how, in contexts where formal welfare systems are weak or inaccessible, people often depend on kinship ties, community structures, and patron‑client networks for social protection.

Using Pakistan as a case study, the speakers examined the dual role of corruption: arguing that while it undermines formal welfare provision, it also functions as a survival mechanism for those excluded from official support. Drawing on their recent paper and their SOC ACE project, the panel outlined a nuanced framework for understanding corruption’s place within informal welfare regimes, highlighting its path‑dependent nature.

They presented policy recommendations that encouraged and empowered reformers to distinguish between corruption that eroded welfare equity and corruption that compensated for systemic failures.

The panel also considered how collaborative efforts involving state and non‑state actors, including NGOs and religious institutions, could support more inclusive solutions. Ultimately, they emphasised and examined politically feasible, context‑sensitive reforms that strengthened formal welfare systems without destabilising the informal mechanisms on which many people relied.