This paper is motivated by the authors’ experience of carrying out a study on poverty, vulnerability and social protection in Pakistan (Kabeer et al., 2005). The study was commissioned by two local donor offices in response to the significance given to these issues in the country’s PRSP. The study drew on the available literature, both academic and policy-related. In addition, it entailed 4 weeks of intensive qualitative field work in rural and urban locations in south Punjab and Sindh.