Modify your search
Determinants of Poverty in Pakistan: A Multinomial Logit Approach
Umer Khalid, Lubna Shahnaz and Hajira Bibi
Published:Jan - June 2005
According to the World Development Report 2000-2001 almost
half of the world’s population – 2.8 billion out of 6 billion live on less
than $2 a day; while a fifth, i.e., 1.2 billion live on less than $1 a day with
44 per cent of them living in South Asia.1
The Pakistan Economic Survey
2000-2001 reports that about 33 per cent of the country’s population is
living below the food poverty line.2
Food poverty trends since 1990-91
shows that food poverty has been on the rise since 1990-91, with a higher
increase being observed in rural areas where food poverty increased from a
low of 22.5 per cent in 1992-93 to a high of 34.8 per cent in 1998-99
(Table-1).
In Pakistan, a large share of the household budget is spent on food.
Approximately half of the household consumption expenditure is used to
meet the nutritional requirements of the household at the national level. In
rural areas this proportion is about 54 per cent, while in urban areas it is 41
per cent3
(see Appendix Table-1). Despite such high proportions of
consumption expenditure on food, the incidence of food poverty remained
high, about one-third of households were living below the food poverty line
and were not meeting their nutritional requirements
KEYWORDS:
Pakistan, poverty, determinants, household consumption expenditure.
JEL:
N/A.
The Knowledge Divide: Education Inequality in Pakistan
Haroon Jamal and Amir Jahan Khan
Published:Jan - June 2005
As economic activity becomes increasingly knowledge based,
disparities in educational opportunity play a more important role in
determining the distribution of income and poverty. A greater equity in the
distribution of educational opportunities enables the poor to capture a
larger share of the benefits of economic growth, and in turn contributes to
higher growth rates. In contrast, large-scale exclusion from educational
opportunities results in lower economic growth and persistent income
inequality. This research appraises education inequalities in Pakistan at the
district level. To summarize district performance in terms of education, a
District Education Index (DEI) is prepared. Further, it explores the
socioeconomic inequalities in education by linking DEI with the level of
district economic development.
KEYWORDS:
Pakistan, education inequality.
JEL:
N/A.
Published:Jan - June 2005
In third world countries, where the level of mechanization in
agriculture is low, livestock rearing is mainly for draught purpose. On the
other hand, the use of animals for draught purpose is low in developed
countries owing to the high level of farm mechanization and the animals are
mainly reared for the consumption of meat and milk. Milk production in
Pakistan is an important enterprise for over five million households owning
buffaloes and cattle. Supply response of livestock has been undertaken mostly
in developed countries. In developing countries livestock farming is not done
on a large scale basis. This study is an attempt to obtain the best estimates of
the response of milk producers while making a decision about production
allocation of milk in Pakistan. The main objectives of the study are: (1) to test
whether Pakistani milk producers respond to price movements (2) to estimate
the elasticities of production with respect to milk producers: (a) relative price
(b) credit and lagged production (c) to make a comparison of short-run and
long-run price elasticities with that of developed and underdeveloped countries
(d) to identify policy measures. The study is based on secondary data at the
Pakistan level and covers a period of 31 years, starting from 1971-72 to
2002-03. Marc Nerlove’s (1958) partial adjustment lagged model is used for
the study. The result of the analysis reveals that in the process of making the
production decisions for milk production, all the variables (relative price,
credit availability and lagged milk production) are equally important
KEYWORDS:
Pakistan, milk production, dairy, farm mechanization, lagged milk production.
JEL:
Q11.
Arbitrage Pricing Theory: Evidence From An Emerging Stock Market
Javed Iqbal and Aziz Haider
Published:Jan - June 2005
The development of financial equilibrium asset pricing models has
been the most important area of research in modern financial theory. These
models are extensively tested for developed markets. This paper examines the
validity of the Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) model on returns from 24
actively trading stocks in Karachi Stock Exchange using monthly data from
January 1997 to December 2003. Explanatory factor analysis approach
indicates two factors governing stock return. Pre-specified macro economic
approach identifies these two factors as the anticipated and unanticipated
inflation and market index and dividend yield. Some evidence of instability
is found. The overall finding of two significant priced factors at least for a
sub period supports APT for an emerging capital market.
KEYWORDS:
Financial equilibrium models, capital asset pricing model, arbitrage pricing theory.
JEL:
N/A.
Note: Intra-Model Employment Elasticities (A Case Study of Pakistan’s Small – Scale Manufacturing Sector)
Javaid Iqbal Khan
Published:Jan - June 2005
In the paper we have estimated elasticities of employment with
respect to the expansionary factors. According to our finding, in the small
scale manufacturing sector size of employment is negatively related with
wage elasticity, positively related with capital elasticity and also positively
related with value of product elasticity.
KEYWORDS:
Employment elasticities, Pakistan, small-scale manufacturing.
JEL:
N/A.
Book Review: Pakistan Under Musharraf: Economic Reform and Political Change
Miguel Loureiro
Published:Jan - June 2005
Shahrukh Rafi Khan, Pakistan Under Musharraf (1999-2002):
Economic Reform and Political Change, Vanguard Books, Lahore. Pages
178. Price: Pak Rs. 495/-.
Dedicated to Omar Asghar Khan, this book can be seen as a
continuation of the author’s previous Reforming Pakistan’s Political
Economy, published by Vanguard in 1999. Using findings from research
done by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), when the
author was its Executive Director, Shahrukh Rafi Khan takes us through
the political and economic reforms undertaken by the present military
government.
KEYWORDS:
Pakistan, Musharraf, political economy, reform.
JEL:
N/A.