Regional variation in the socioeconomic development of Pakistan : an inter-district multivariate analysis | |
| Author | Akram, Sohail |
| Call Number | AIT RSPR no.RD-10-02 |
| Subject(s) | Regional disparities--Pakistan Regional economic disparities--Pakistan Economic conditions--Regional disparities--Pakistan Social conditions--Regional disparities--Pakistan |
| Note | A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Regional and Rural Development Planning |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | |
| Abstract | Concern has been growing recently over wide regional disparities in levels of economic development in the developing and underdeveloped countries. Core areas have experienced rapid development, while other areas have lagged behind in the process of development and have been little affected by economic and social changes . Pakistan is administratively divided into four regions (provinces), Punjab, Sind, NWFP (North West Frontier Province), and Baluchistan. These regions are highly heterogeneous in terms of size, population, level of economic development, income and poverty. Like most developing countries, Pakistan also faces the challenge of regional disparities in social and economic development . The degree of spatial variation in level of development within a country has implications in terms of development planning and pol icy formation . Therefore a periodic documentation of the levels and trends of inter regional and intra regional variation in socioeconomic development is a pre-requisite for effective intervention to achieve spatially equitable and sustainable development i n Pakistan . It is now widely recognized that the development is a multidimensional phenomenon. Assessment of spatial variation in development requires many data related to different aspects that influence the development process. The multitude of development indicators and of territorial units makes it difficult to capture the broad picture of the comparative development status of different regions. One of the major challenges for researchers and policy makers is to reduce the complexity to a manageable set of indicators that can be used to interpret reality . The methods of multivariate statistics have been very efficient in reduction of complexity of a large data set. Using multivariate statistical methods of factor and cluster analysis , this study identifies the spatial - temporal patterns of socioeconomic development in Pakistan . Major factors contributing to the regional variation in development are also identified using twenty development indicators related to literacy, education, health, income, employment and quality of life measure at two different points in time (1998 and 2008) .The results lead to the conclusion that there exists a wide inter - district as well as inter and intra - provincial regional variation in level of socioeconomic development and that this regional imbalance has not reduced over time. It was also found that major part of this regional variation is characterized by rural - urban disparities and the level of development is largely determined by the process of urbanization . Majority of the districts of Baluchistan and NWFP has been identified as less or underdeveloped. Within Punjab, southern part lags far behind from its northern and central part in terms of social and economic conditions. Within Sind rural - urban disparities are more visible than in case of Punjab. Major factors which were found responsible for the inter - regional variation in socioeconomic development in Pakistan are mostly related to the social sector and are more or less same for both the time periods (1998 and 2008). The analysis demonstrates the importance of literacy, education and basic health infrastructure in determining the inter - district variation in terms of overall development in Pakistan. These results would be helpful in determining the priorities for regional and sectoral development policy and resource allocation. |
| Year | 2010 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Research studies project report ; no. RD-10-02 |
| Type | Research Study Project Report (RSPR) |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Routray, Jayant K. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Thapa, Gopal B.;Ahmad, Mokbul M. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | University of Baluchistan , Quetta, Pakistan;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship |
| Degree | Research studies project report (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2010 |