Vol 1 No 2 (2026): IMANIF: Islamic Economics Management and Finance Journal
Articles

Corporate Social Responsibility and Its Impact on Poverty Reduction and Employment Generation: Evidence from Pakistan

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  • Muhammad Ashraf,
  • Amanullah Khattak
Muhammad Ashraf
Gomal university kpk Pakistan
Amanullah Khattak
Gomal University

Diterbitkan 2026-06-20

Kata Kunci

  • Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),
  • Poverty Reduction,
  • Pakistan ,
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Hak Cipta (c) 2026 Muhammad Ashraf, Dr. Amanullah Khattak (Author)

Creative Commons License

Artikel ini berlisensi Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstrak

Despite the growing recognition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a tool for sustainable development, empirical evidence on its contribution to poverty reduction and employment generation in developing economies remains limited. This study investigates the developmental impact of CSR in Pakistan using a longitudinal panel dataset of 180 Pakistan Stock Exchange-listed firms covering 1,800 firm-year observations from 2013–2023. Drawing on Stakeholder Theory, Social Capital Theory, and Human Capital Theory, the study employs fixed-effects panel regression, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), mediation analysis, and Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) estimation to examine both direct and indirect effects of CSR. The findings reveal that CSR significantly reduces poverty incidence (β = −0.198) and promotes employment generation (β = 0.287), with results remaining robust after endogeneity correction. Community investment and workforce development jointly mediate 46.2% of the poverty-reduction effect, while workforce development emerges as the strongest mechanism driving employment creation. The effects are significantly stronger in rural regions and labor-intensive industries.

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