Open AccessMass Poverty in Pakistan - A Further Study
Author(s) -
Talat K. Alauddin
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
pakistan development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.154
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0030-9729
DOI - 10.30541/v14i4pp.431-450
Subject(s) - poverty , consumption (sociology) , economics , welfare , per capita income , per capita , distribution (mathematics) , demographic economics , development economics , standard of living , value (mathematics) , estimation , socioeconomics , economic growth , population , demography , statistics , mathematical analysis , social science , mathematics , management , sociology , market economy
Despite great development efforts made in Pakistan1 during thelast twenty-five years, the extent of poverty in the country hasremained shockingly great and the living standards of the massesalarmingly low. The interest in the study of the mass poverty problem isof recent origin in Pakistan. Earlier studies have examined the problemmainly from the point of view of an equit¬able distribution of incomeand wealth and their analysis has been principally based on theirrelative shares. However, one study [6] deals with the specific problemof mass poverty in Pakistan, taking into account the absolute levels.The study, done by Naseem, analyses consumption expenditure of themasses by making use of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey [9]data for the years 1963-64, 1966-67, 1968-69 and 1969-70. Since then,many changes have occurred in Pakistan's economy as a result of whichthe per capita GNP declined during the last two years covered by thisstudy, viz. 1970-71 and 1971-72. Since expenditure, as a measure ofwelfare, may not be very appropriate in a year in which income declines,for part of the expenditure might be financed by dissavings and sales ofassets, the analysis for this paper is based on both expendi¬ture andincome levels. Moreover, as the estimation of poverty levels, to a greatextent, involves, besides other things, value judgment, it is moreappro¬priate to specify a range of income and expenditure values ratherthan specific values. For this reason, the study makes use of fourlevels of income and expenditures, instead of the two adopted inNaseem's study [6], below each of which the number of the poor isestimated.