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Khadija Shams

University of Glasgow, Department of Economics, Department Member

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Khadija holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Glasgow, UK. She has taught both undergraduate and postgraduate students and thus possesses rich experience of teaching at various levels and in different disciplines, including development economics and economic data analysis. Khadija was employed by the Scottish Government in the Equality Statistics Team and also had various posts in the Pakistani Government Service. She was a lecturer in Economics at the FEF Degree College for Girls as well as the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar.

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Papers by Khadija Shams

Review of: "Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Food Consumption Preferences

COVID-19 and Subjective Well-Being in Urban Pakistan in the Beginning of the Pandemic: A Socio-Economic Analysis

Applied Research in Quality of Life

This study contributes to the existing literature on happiness studies by analyzing the effects o... more This study contributes to the existing literature on happiness studies by analyzing the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on subjective well-being (SWB) in a developing country, focusing specifically on satisfaction with socioeconomic status. Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan from before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, we find that during the early days of the pandemic and the related social distancing and potential lockdowns, SWB declined, particularly among unemployed, married couples, males and older people. Unexpectedly, we also observed that households having a higher income suffered more from the pandemic in terms of satisfaction with their socioeconomic status compared to their poorer counterparts. We explain this finding by increased fear for falling into poverty due to lockdowns and inflation.

Correction to: Leisure-time and subjective well-being among park visitors in urban Pakistan: the mediating role of health satisfaction

SN Social Sciences

The original publication has been corrected due to a change in the author group.

Income inequality, remittances and economic wellbeing in rural Pakistan: linkages and empirical evidence

Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 2020

This paper uses data from a rural household survey in 2008 of 600 sample households to describe t... more This paper uses data from a rural household survey in 2008 of 600 sample households to describe the sources of income and its contribution to inequality in Pakistan. Interestingly, transfer income from remittances from within and outside the country is the highest source of income for rural households. This is followed by other sources of income from agricultural, nonfarm, livestock and rental incomes. Income distributions by these sources are calculated by quintiles. Furthermore, decomposition of overall inequality (measured by Gini coefficient) is calculated by sources of income and by provinces and districts. Partial correlation coefficients between Gini coefficients and sources of income are calculated by districts. Finally, a regression model is estimated to determine the nature and magnitude of the effects of relative income levels (measured as economic wellbeing) of households on the shares of remittances in their total household income. The household economic wellbeing contributes significantly and positively to the shares of remittances in the total household income. In general, different sources of income contribute differently to inequality with strong distributional implications. In particular, the contribution of remittances, among others, can be singled out as a major source of income and reduction in income inequality. Our results show that there is a unidirectional causality running from economic wellbeing to remittances and from remittances to income inequality. One of the limitations of our study is the static perspective of the dataset that do not consider changes over time. Second, it is a micro-level study that does not consider changes at a broader perspective. We suggest that similar studies should also be conducted in other regions, for different time periods and at a broader scale or macro-level to develop the subject. Last, it would be nice to look at the consumption and wealth-stock side of economic wellbeing, an issue we do not tackle because of data reasons.

Determinants of Subjective Well-Being and Poverty in Rural Pakistan: A Micro-Level Study

Social Indicators Research, 2014

Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on happiness index with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of household’s happiness with the current socio-economic status. We estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent a well-being perspective adds to our understanding of poverty. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations where children have a negative impact on overall well-being, this study suggests a positive impact on well-being and poverty. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan.

Income and Health Satisfaction: Evidence from Rural Pakistan

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2014

This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent in... more This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent income determines household-specific health outcomes in rural Pakistan using our survey data. Controlling for various socioeconomic characteristics, we investigate validity of the three income-health hypotheses: the Absolute Income Hypothesis, the Relative Income Hypothesis and the Income Inequality Hypothesis (IIH). Whilst these hypotheses crucially differ in their exact substance, broadly speaking, those refer to the idea that a household's health status might be linked to the existing socioeconomic environment. Households with a more favourable income position (either in absolute, relative or distributional terms) might enjoy a better health status. We employ a general empirical specification that nests different health functions as special cases. This permits testing the income-health hypotheses separately and jointly. We find that in rural Pakistan both the relative income (with respect to the relevant community) and absolute income are major determinants of health. This is in contrast to results typically reported for developed countries, where in particular the household's absolute income position appears to matter. The study provides important insights into the causes of health inequalities. For instance, higher income improves health directly because of higher social support and other psychosocial reasons. However, we failed to confirm IIH on pure statistical grounds.

Leisure-time and subjective well-being among park visitors in urban Pakistan: the mediating role of health satisfaction

SN Social Sciences, 2021

The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of health satisfaction with a particular empha... more The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of health satisfaction with a particular emphasis on how leisure-time spent in parks determines the overall well-being, including the health satisfaction among the park visitors. Our data have been collected from park visitors in four major public parks in urban Pakistan based on a multistage non-random sampling technique. The results from the regression analysis suggest that besides socio-economic characteristics like being well-educated and richer; the amount of weekly leisure-time spent in park plays a positive and significant role in well-being. In particular, health satisfaction mediates the relationship between the amount of weekly leisure-time spent in park and subjective well-being among the park visitors in the study area. Policy makers should hence put more emphasis on park facilitation to encourage park visitation to ensure greater happiness and better quality of life particularly in terms of health satisfaction. This in ...

Himmy poverty environ population

What does a well-being perspective add to our understanding of poverty?

Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on life satisfaction with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of households’ satisfaction with the current socio-economic status as well as financial well-being regarding satisfaction with the current income

Income inequality in rural Pakistan-sources and decompositions

This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decomp... more This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decompose income inequality according to its different sources. We calculate Gini coefficients and Theil indices both within and across provinces and districts. A partial correlation analysis extends our descriptive investigation to reveal the different impacts of the various income sources on overall income inequalities. The unique focus

Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science

Happiness across the life span: Evidence from urban Pakistan Khadija Shams

by Khadija Shams and Alexander Kadow

Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan, this paper tries to investigate subjective well-being ... more Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan, this paper tries to investigate subjective well-being across the life span, taking various socioeconomic factors into account. The results suggest that well-being is positively associated with being male, educational attainment as well as the health and employment status. Living in a relatively affluent area contributes positively as well. In contrast to empirical evidence on industrialized countries, happiness increases with the number of children. Our results moreover suggest a U-shaped age-happiness pattern. Taken together, these findings corroborate the notion of children offering insurance to the elders against economic risks in countries where the social safety net is relatively weak. Providing a subjective well-being perspective, this study may therefore also add to our understanding of the relatively high birth rates in many developing countries, giving rise for appropriate policy considerations. 

Budgetary Allocations Literacy Rate and Number of Primary Schools in District Peshawar Pakistan: Linkages and Empirical Evidence

Drawing on time-series data from Khyber Pukhtun Khuwa (K.P.K) province (the Northern Pakistan), a... more Drawing on time-series data from Khyber Pukhtun Khuwa (K.P.K) province (the Northern Pakistan), an attempt has been made to evaluate the role of investment on primary education sector in improving literacy rate of Peshawar district. Using statistical analysis, a relationship between literacy rate and its potential determinants has been tested. The findings revealed that the major determinants are the budgetary allocation to primary education sector and the number of primary schools that matter positively and significantly. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing literature, with special reference to Pakistan.

Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being and Poverty: An Economic Perspective

Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we estimate a happiness model to explore to wha... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we estimate a happiness model to explore
to what extent an economic perspective adds to our understanding of subjective wellbeing
poverty. The data elicits information on subjective well-being in general and particularly on
financial well-being in terms of household's happiness with the current income or
expenditure. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being
poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly.
Moreover unlike developed nations this study suggests a positive impact of children on wellbeing
and poverty due to their productive contribution. As studies employing good data from
developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the
existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan. Secondly, it brings new and
strong empirical evidence to alternative approaches to subjective well-being poverty.

Income and Health Satisfaction: Evidence from Rural Pakistan

This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent in... more This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent income determines household-specific health outcomes in rural Pakistan using our survey data. Controlling for various socio-economic characteristics, we investigate validity of the three income-health hypotheses: the Absolute Income Hypothesis, the Relative Income Hypothesis and the Income Inequality Hypothesis (IIH). Whilst these hypotheses crucially differ in their exact substance, broadly speaking, those refer to the idea that a household’s health status might be linked to the existing socio-economic environment. Households with a more favourable income position (either in absolute, relative or distributional terms) might enjoy a better health status. We employ a general empirical specification that nests different health functions as special cases. This permits testing the income-health hypotheses separately and jointly. We find that in rural Pakistan both the relative income (with respect to the relevant community) and absolute income are major determinants of health. This is in contrast to results typically reported for developed countries, where in particular the household’s absolute income position appears to matter. The study provides important insights into the causes of health inequalities. For instance, higher income improves health directly because of higher social support and other psychosocial reasons. However, we failed to confirm IIH on pure statistical grounds.

The Relationship Between Economic and Health Indicators in Rural Pakistan

Drawing on a unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the relationship between econo... more Drawing on a unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the relationship between economic and health indicators. The data elicits information on health in terms of number of doctor visits per household and uses income as indicator of their material welfare. We estimate the Poisson regression model for count data (i.e. number of doctor visits per household) which allows us to evaluate the impact of the material standards in different parts of the distribution. The overall effect is higher income reduces the number of doctor visits, because of higher standards of living and a better access to the private as well as efficient health care services.

Determinants of Subjective Well-Being and Poverty in Rural Pakistan: A Micro-Level Study

Social Indicators Research

Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on happiness index with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of household’s happiness with the current socio-economic status. We estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent a well-being perspective adds to our understanding of poverty. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations where children have a negative impact on overall well-being, this study suggests a positive impact on well-being and poverty. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan.

Income inequality in rural Pakistan: sources and decompositions

This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decomp... more This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decompose income inequality according to its different sources. We calculate Gini coefficients and Theil indices both within and across provinces and districts. A partial correlation analysis extends our descriptive investigation to reveal the different impacts of the various income sources on overall income inequalities. The unique focus

Population, environment and poverty in Pakistan: linkages and empirical evidence

Environment, Development and Sustainability, Jan 1, 2009

This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empi... more This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empirical evidence in a developing country like Pakistan. It gives alternative views on population environment linkages. It explains poverty trap, market based harmony, and dual effect of poverty on the basis of a link between population growth and natural resource degradation. In addition, the paper also highlights social and political instability through population-poverty-environment spiral. It also presents empirical evidence on population-environment-poverty nexus in Pakistan. It also compares environmental sustainability index and human development index for selected Asian countries. The paper also gives scores for different components of environmental sustainability index for Pakistan and compares these with India. The paper concludes that the causal relationship between poverty and environment works in both directions, often through changes in GDP and population. Population stress does not have any significant direct effect on all aspects of environmental status in Pakistan.

Income inequalities and well-being in rural Pakistan

Review of: "Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Food Consumption Preferences

COVID-19 and Subjective Well-Being in Urban Pakistan in the Beginning of the Pandemic: A Socio-Economic Analysis

Applied Research in Quality of Life

This study contributes to the existing literature on happiness studies by analyzing the effects o... more This study contributes to the existing literature on happiness studies by analyzing the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on subjective well-being (SWB) in a developing country, focusing specifically on satisfaction with socioeconomic status. Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan from before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, we find that during the early days of the pandemic and the related social distancing and potential lockdowns, SWB declined, particularly among unemployed, married couples, males and older people. Unexpectedly, we also observed that households having a higher income suffered more from the pandemic in terms of satisfaction with their socioeconomic status compared to their poorer counterparts. We explain this finding by increased fear for falling into poverty due to lockdowns and inflation.

Correction to: Leisure-time and subjective well-being among park visitors in urban Pakistan: the mediating role of health satisfaction

SN Social Sciences

The original publication has been corrected due to a change in the author group.

Income inequality, remittances and economic wellbeing in rural Pakistan: linkages and empirical evidence

Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 2020

This paper uses data from a rural household survey in 2008 of 600 sample households to describe t... more This paper uses data from a rural household survey in 2008 of 600 sample households to describe the sources of income and its contribution to inequality in Pakistan. Interestingly, transfer income from remittances from within and outside the country is the highest source of income for rural households. This is followed by other sources of income from agricultural, nonfarm, livestock and rental incomes. Income distributions by these sources are calculated by quintiles. Furthermore, decomposition of overall inequality (measured by Gini coefficient) is calculated by sources of income and by provinces and districts. Partial correlation coefficients between Gini coefficients and sources of income are calculated by districts. Finally, a regression model is estimated to determine the nature and magnitude of the effects of relative income levels (measured as economic wellbeing) of households on the shares of remittances in their total household income. The household economic wellbeing contributes significantly and positively to the shares of remittances in the total household income. In general, different sources of income contribute differently to inequality with strong distributional implications. In particular, the contribution of remittances, among others, can be singled out as a major source of income and reduction in income inequality. Our results show that there is a unidirectional causality running from economic wellbeing to remittances and from remittances to income inequality. One of the limitations of our study is the static perspective of the dataset that do not consider changes over time. Second, it is a micro-level study that does not consider changes at a broader perspective. We suggest that similar studies should also be conducted in other regions, for different time periods and at a broader scale or macro-level to develop the subject. Last, it would be nice to look at the consumption and wealth-stock side of economic wellbeing, an issue we do not tackle because of data reasons.

Determinants of Subjective Well-Being and Poverty in Rural Pakistan: A Micro-Level Study

Social Indicators Research, 2014

Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on happiness index with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of household’s happiness with the current socio-economic status. We estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent a well-being perspective adds to our understanding of poverty. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations where children have a negative impact on overall well-being, this study suggests a positive impact on well-being and poverty. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan.

Income and Health Satisfaction: Evidence from Rural Pakistan

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2014

This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent in... more This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent income determines household-specific health outcomes in rural Pakistan using our survey data. Controlling for various socioeconomic characteristics, we investigate validity of the three income-health hypotheses: the Absolute Income Hypothesis, the Relative Income Hypothesis and the Income Inequality Hypothesis (IIH). Whilst these hypotheses crucially differ in their exact substance, broadly speaking, those refer to the idea that a household's health status might be linked to the existing socioeconomic environment. Households with a more favourable income position (either in absolute, relative or distributional terms) might enjoy a better health status. We employ a general empirical specification that nests different health functions as special cases. This permits testing the income-health hypotheses separately and jointly. We find that in rural Pakistan both the relative income (with respect to the relevant community) and absolute income are major determinants of health. This is in contrast to results typically reported for developed countries, where in particular the household's absolute income position appears to matter. The study provides important insights into the causes of health inequalities. For instance, higher income improves health directly because of higher social support and other psychosocial reasons. However, we failed to confirm IIH on pure statistical grounds.

Leisure-time and subjective well-being among park visitors in urban Pakistan: the mediating role of health satisfaction

SN Social Sciences, 2021

The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of health satisfaction with a particular empha... more The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of health satisfaction with a particular emphasis on how leisure-time spent in parks determines the overall well-being, including the health satisfaction among the park visitors. Our data have been collected from park visitors in four major public parks in urban Pakistan based on a multistage non-random sampling technique. The results from the regression analysis suggest that besides socio-economic characteristics like being well-educated and richer; the amount of weekly leisure-time spent in park plays a positive and significant role in well-being. In particular, health satisfaction mediates the relationship between the amount of weekly leisure-time spent in park and subjective well-being among the park visitors in the study area. Policy makers should hence put more emphasis on park facilitation to encourage park visitation to ensure greater happiness and better quality of life particularly in terms of health satisfaction. This in ...

Himmy poverty environ population

What does a well-being perspective add to our understanding of poverty?

Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on life satisfaction with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of households’ satisfaction with the current socio-economic status as well as financial well-being regarding satisfaction with the current income

Income inequality in rural Pakistan-sources and decompositions

This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decomp... more This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decompose income inequality according to its different sources. We calculate Gini coefficients and Theil indices both within and across provinces and districts. A partial correlation analysis extends our descriptive investigation to reveal the different impacts of the various income sources on overall income inequalities. The unique focus

Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science

Happiness across the life span: Evidence from urban Pakistan Khadija Shams

by Khadija Shams and Alexander Kadow

Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan, this paper tries to investigate subjective well-being ... more Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan, this paper tries to investigate subjective well-being across the life span, taking various socioeconomic factors into account. The results suggest that well-being is positively associated with being male, educational attainment as well as the health and employment status. Living in a relatively affluent area contributes positively as well. In contrast to empirical evidence on industrialized countries, happiness increases with the number of children. Our results moreover suggest a U-shaped age-happiness pattern. Taken together, these findings corroborate the notion of children offering insurance to the elders against economic risks in countries where the social safety net is relatively weak. Providing a subjective well-being perspective, this study may therefore also add to our understanding of the relatively high birth rates in many developing countries, giving rise for appropriate policy considerations. 

Budgetary Allocations Literacy Rate and Number of Primary Schools in District Peshawar Pakistan: Linkages and Empirical Evidence

Drawing on time-series data from Khyber Pukhtun Khuwa (K.P.K) province (the Northern Pakistan), a... more Drawing on time-series data from Khyber Pukhtun Khuwa (K.P.K) province (the Northern Pakistan), an attempt has been made to evaluate the role of investment on primary education sector in improving literacy rate of Peshawar district. Using statistical analysis, a relationship between literacy rate and its potential determinants has been tested. The findings revealed that the major determinants are the budgetary allocation to primary education sector and the number of primary schools that matter positively and significantly. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing literature, with special reference to Pakistan.

Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being and Poverty: An Economic Perspective

Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we estimate a happiness model to explore to wha... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we estimate a happiness model to explore
to what extent an economic perspective adds to our understanding of subjective wellbeing
poverty. The data elicits information on subjective well-being in general and particularly on
financial well-being in terms of household's happiness with the current income or
expenditure. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being
poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly.
Moreover unlike developed nations this study suggests a positive impact of children on wellbeing
and poverty due to their productive contribution. As studies employing good data from
developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the
existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan. Secondly, it brings new and
strong empirical evidence to alternative approaches to subjective well-being poverty.

Income and Health Satisfaction: Evidence from Rural Pakistan

This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent in... more This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent income determines household-specific health outcomes in rural Pakistan using our survey data. Controlling for various socio-economic characteristics, we investigate validity of the three income-health hypotheses: the Absolute Income Hypothesis, the Relative Income Hypothesis and the Income Inequality Hypothesis (IIH). Whilst these hypotheses crucially differ in their exact substance, broadly speaking, those refer to the idea that a household’s health status might be linked to the existing socio-economic environment. Households with a more favourable income position (either in absolute, relative or distributional terms) might enjoy a better health status. We employ a general empirical specification that nests different health functions as special cases. This permits testing the income-health hypotheses separately and jointly. We find that in rural Pakistan both the relative income (with respect to the relevant community) and absolute income are major determinants of health. This is in contrast to results typically reported for developed countries, where in particular the household’s absolute income position appears to matter. The study provides important insights into the causes of health inequalities. For instance, higher income improves health directly because of higher social support and other psychosocial reasons. However, we failed to confirm IIH on pure statistical grounds.

The Relationship Between Economic and Health Indicators in Rural Pakistan

Drawing on a unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the relationship between econo... more Drawing on a unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the relationship between economic and health indicators. The data elicits information on health in terms of number of doctor visits per household and uses income as indicator of their material welfare. We estimate the Poisson regression model for count data (i.e. number of doctor visits per household) which allows us to evaluate the impact of the material standards in different parts of the distribution. The overall effect is higher income reduces the number of doctor visits, because of higher standards of living and a better access to the private as well as efficient health care services.

Determinants of Subjective Well-Being and Poverty in Rural Pakistan: A Micro-Level Study

Social Indicators Research

Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on happiness index with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of household’s happiness with the current socio-economic status. We estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent a well-being perspective adds to our understanding of poverty. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations where children have a negative impact on overall well-being, this study suggests a positive impact on well-being and poverty. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan.

Income inequality in rural Pakistan: sources and decompositions

This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decomp... more This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decompose income inequality according to its different sources. We calculate Gini coefficients and Theil indices both within and across provinces and districts. A partial correlation analysis extends our descriptive investigation to reveal the different impacts of the various income sources on overall income inequalities. The unique focus

Population, environment and poverty in Pakistan: linkages and empirical evidence

Environment, Development and Sustainability, Jan 1, 2009

This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empi... more This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empirical evidence in a developing country like Pakistan. It gives alternative views on population environment linkages. It explains poverty trap, market based harmony, and dual effect of poverty on the basis of a link between population growth and natural resource degradation. In addition, the paper also highlights social and political instability through population-poverty-environment spiral. It also presents empirical evidence on population-environment-poverty nexus in Pakistan. It also compares environmental sustainability index and human development index for selected Asian countries. The paper also gives scores for different components of environmental sustainability index for Pakistan and compares these with India. The paper concludes that the causal relationship between poverty and environment works in both directions, often through changes in GDP and population. Population stress does not have any significant direct effect on all aspects of environmental status in Pakistan.

Income inequalities and well-being in rural Pakistan