Poverty across the Agro-Ecological Zones in Rural Pakistan

Arif, Ghulam-Muhammad and Ahmad, Munir (2001): Poverty across the Agro-Ecological Zones in Rural Pakistan. Published in: Irrigation Against Rural Poverty: An Overview of Issues and Pro-Poor Intervention Strategies in Irrigation Agriculture in Asia. (Ed) Intizar Hussain and Eric Biltonen (2001): pp. 177-186.

Abstract

Thc major objective of this paper was to review the studies relating to poverty analysis in Pakistan. The results of these have shown that the poverty has increased during the 90s overall as well as in rural and urban areas, after experiencing downward trends during the 80s. Besides, the gap between rural and urban poverty has also widened. The recent estimates show that morc than one-third of our population lives in extreme poverty, and around 70 percent of these unfortunate people reside in rural areas. The results based on agro-ecological divisions of the country indicate that poverty is lowest in the barani arias of the Punjab because or better opportunities in terms of employment in other sectors, particularly, the services sector as well as overseas migration. The highest is observed in Balochistan may be due to nonavailability of irrigation water and low rainfall making dwellers more vulnerable to droughts seriously affecting the crops and the livestock which are the main sources of their livelihood.

Poverty is widely spread in irrigated areas of the country particularly in Southern Punjab and Sindh where feudal system still prevails. Job opportunities outside agriculture are limited and migration within the country or overseas is not a common phenomenon in these areas of the country. On the one hand there is a need to carry out more research to understand better the phenomenon of poverty across the agro-ecological zones, and on the other, poverty alleviation programs should focus on those areas where the incidence of poverty is alarmingly high.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Poverty, ecological zones, Punjab, Pakistan
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O10 - General

References

Ahmed. M. 1993. Choice of a norm of poverty threshold and extent of poverty in Pakistan. The Journal of Development Studies. Vol. 12. Peshwar.

Amjad. Rashid: and A.R. Kemal.1997, Macro-economic policies and their impact on poverty alleviation in Pakistan. The Pakistan Development Review 36 (1).

Arif. G.M.: S. Mubashir Ali: Zafar Mueen Nasir: and Nabeela Arshad. 1999. An introduction to Pakistan socio-economic survey. PIDE. Mimerograph.

JArif. G.M.: Hina Nazli: and Rashida Haq.2001. Rural nonagriculure employment and Poverty. Paper presented at the 16'h Annual General Meeting of the PSDE held in Islamabad on 22-24 January. 200 1.

Baulch. Boh: and Neil McCulloch. 1998. Being poor and becoming poor: poverty status and poverty transition in rural Pakistan. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

Deaton. Angus.1998. The analysis of household survey: A microeconomic approach to development policy. Washington. D.C.: The World Bank.

Gazdar. H.: S. Howes: and Salman Zaid. 1994. Poverty in Pakistan: measurement trends and patterns. London: ST/CRD. LSE.

Gustafssan. B.: and Li Shi.1998. The structure of Chinese poverty. 1998. The Developing Economies 34(4).

Government of Pakistan. 1993-94. Household income expenditure survey. Islamabad: Statistics Division. Government of Pakistan.

Heganaars. A.: and Klass de Vos. 1988. Thc definition and measurement of poverty. The journal of human resources ( 23 )2.

Jafri. S. M.: Yunous: and A. Khattak. 1995. Income inequality and poverty in Pakistan. Pakistan Economic and Social Review ( 33).

Jafri. S.M. Younis.1999. Assessing poverty in Pakistan. In A profile of poverty in Pakistan. Islamabad: Mahbubul Haq Centre for Human Development.

Malik. Sohail J. 1992. Rural poverty in Pakistan: Some recent evidence. The Pakistan Development Review 31(4).

Malik. Sohail J.1993. Poverty in Pakistan. 1984-85 to 1987-88. In Including the poor. eds. M. Lipton and J. v. Der Gaag. Proceedings of a Symposium Organised by the World Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute. Washington: The World Bank.

Berai. A.S.1993. Population growth, employment and poverty in Third World mega-cities: Analytical and policy issues. New York: St. Martin's Press. Inc.

Panagides, Alexis (1994) Mexico. In G. Psacharopoulos and H. A. Patrinos (eds) Indigenous People and Poverty in Latin America: An Empirical Analysis. World Bank Regional and Sectoral Studies, Washington, D. C.: The World Bank.

Pinckney. Thomas C. 1989. The demand for public storage of wheat in Pakistan. Research Report 77. Washington: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Quinones, Benjamin Jr. (1999) Eradicating Poverty in the Asia-Pacific Region, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor. Journal of the Asian and Pacific Development Centre 1:1

Qureshi. S.K.: and G.M. Arif. 2001. Profile of Poverty in Pakistan, 1998- 99 . MIMAP TECHNICAL PAPER SERIES No. 5. Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.