Abstract
Poverty is a big challenge for Aceh with striking disparities in poverty levels between regions. This study aims to analyze the effect of zakat distribution, economic growth, and the number of SMEs on poverty levels in 23 districts/cities in Aceh Province for the 2014-2018 period. A quantitative approach is used by using panel data consisting of cross-section data, namely 23 districts / cities and time series from 2014-2018, and using the Random Effect Method (REM) analysis model. Data were obtained from the Central Bureau of Statistics of Aceh Province, Baitul Mal Aceh Province, and the Aceh Province Open Data web. The results showed that partially, only the variable number of MSMEs had a significant negative effect in reducing poverty through job creation and community empowerment. Meanwhile, zakat distribution and economic growth do not show a significant effect, which indicates the need to optimize zakat management and equitable distribution of growth results. Although the three variables have a significant effect simultaneously, their contribution is only 13.24% in explaining the variation of poverty.

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