Geography of Poverty in Pakistan– 2008-09 to 2012-13: Distribution, Trends and Explanations

Abstract

This report also offers some of the potential explanations underlying the differential distribution of various measures of poverty across districts. These include differences in: population density, governance (access to and quality of public services), industrial agglomeration, natural resource endowment, patterns of migration, gender relations, and natural and manmade disasters. The report makes a strong case for the overall development and poverty reduction policies that need to be prioritised in the districts that have the highest incidence of poverty as well as those that host the largest number of poor. Coming out of this understanding of poverty are the pathways to tacking poverty through prudent policy measures that would ensure horizontal as well as vertical equality in regions, take people where the opportunities are, and capitalizing on new opportunities. These policy guidelines will benefit the country’s poor and the Government of Pakistan, as well as PPAF, in particular, as it strives to contextualize its poverty reduction programme in the country’s overall economic and development plans while taking cognizance of regional diversity.