Open AccessPoverty Assessment: Pakistan's Case
Author(s) -
M. Shaukat Ali
Publication year - 1995
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/v34i1pp.43-54
Subject(s) - poverty , economics , per capita , basic needs , consumer expenditure survey , population , per capita income , measuring poverty , poverty threshold , engel curve , demographic economics , econometrics , socioeconomics , economic growth , public economics , aggregate expenditure , demography , sociology
This study is an attempt to determine the poverty-line and theincidence of poverty in Pakistan by using data of the latest HouseholdIntegrated Economic Survey: 1990-91. The study uses a differentapproach. and methodology in respect of earlier studies of the subject.The approach is that of the "Basic Needs", which defines thepoverty-line in terms of minimum expenditure on all needs, food as wellas non-food. The methodology used in estimating the minimum expenditureon various needs is based on the "Extended Linear Expenditure System(ELES)". For the year under review, the total poverty-line was estimatedat Rs 374 per capita per month, with the food poverty-line at Rs 191. Acomparison with the income levels reported in the Survey revealed thatroughly 47 percent population had an income less than this thresholdlevel expenditure on all needs, the shortfall or gap being almost 25percent. The proportion of population with an income less than thethreshold expenditure on food alone was found to be 10 percent. Incertain respects, the results were quite different, quantitatively aswell as qualitatively, from those of the earlier studies.