Open AccessThe Impact of Socioeconomic and Demographic Variables on Poverty: A Village Study
Author(s) -
Imran Sharif Chaudhry,
Shahnawaz Malik,
Abo ul Hassan Abo ul Hassan
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the lahore journal of economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1811-5446
pISSN - 1811-5438
DOI - 10.35536/lje.2019.v14.i1.a2
Subject(s) - poverty , socioeconomic status , dependency ratio , socioeconomics , rural poverty , economics , geography , rural area , development economics , economic growth , population , political science , sociology , demography , law
Poverty is a complex phenomenon based on a network ofinterlocking economic, social, political, and demographic factors. Anunderstanding of the extent, nature, and determinants of rural poverty is aprecondition for effective public policy to reduce poverty in rural Pakistan.The present study attempts to analyze the impact of socioeconomic anddemographic characteristics of households on poverty, using primary datacollected in the village of Betti Nala in Tehsil Jatoi, district Muzaffargarhin southern Punjab. We have used two distinct approaches: (i) a povertyprofile, and (ii) an econometric approach in our empirical analysis. Theresults show that household size, dependency on household, participation,landholdings, and number of livestock have a significant impact on povertyincidence. Our final conclusion is that efforts should be made to improvesocioeconomic factors in general and demographic factors in particular toalleviate rural poverty in remote areas of Pakistan, while land should beallotted to landless households.