DefinePK

Abstract

This study aims not only to find out status of rural infrastructural development in Pakistan but also to investigate role of infrastructure in rural poverty reduction. Twin detached analyses have been utilized on two different secondary datasets based on temporally contemporary surveys. Firstly, with the help of ‘Pakistan 2008 MOUZA Statistics’, a comprehensive and composite index of principal infrastructural variables accessible to rural communities has been constructed while assigning higher weights to lower variances. Secondly, logit estimation is applied to 8480 observations of ‘HIES (2005-06)’ relating to rural households to explore hypothesized positive role of infrastructure in poverty reduction. The analysis not only points out a poor status of rural infrastructural development in Pakistan but also highlights its positive but secondary role in poverty eradication of rural areas.