This comparative study examines social policies for poverty alleviation across the Global North (51 articles) and Global South (52 articles) using integrative literature review to identify patterns, divergences, and context-specific contingencies. Synthesizing 103 peer-reviewed articles published 2023-2025, the study investigates how policy effectiveness varies across divergent institutional and developmental contexts. While Global North and Global South economies employ structurally similar poverty instruments (cash transfers, employment programs, social services, healthcare), policy outcomes differ substantially. Social democratic systems in the Global North achieve superior poverty reduction compared to corporatist or liberal systems, yet maintain persistent poverty despite generous spending. Developing economies across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America confront structural barriers (health, disability, gender inequality, informal settlements) requiring integrated policy systems. The research identifies a context-contingency principle: poverty alleviation effectiveness depends not on transferring "best practice" policies between Global North and South, but on aligning policy design, implementation systems, and institutional contexts within specific settings. Global North paradoxes of high spending with persistent poverty parallel Global South implementation barriers in resource-constrained contexts, suggesting that institutional capacity and complementary policy integration matter more than resource availability or policy sophistication. This comparative framework demonstrates that effective poverty alleviation requires simultaneously examining welfare regime variation, implementation fidelity, structural barrier recognition, and political stability across both developed and developing economies, transcending regional silos to reveal universal principles of context-contingent policy effectiveness.