Measuring Who is & Who is not Poor in Azad Jammu & Kashmir using CBN Approach

Abstract

This paper estimated the absolute poverty rate in case of the state of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) Pakistan. The absolute poverty was measured adopting Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) approach. The study utilized Household Integrated Economics Survey of Pakistan 2018-19 data to measure absolute poverty in AJ&K. The study found that AJ&K had a low rate 12.65 percent absolute poverty at provincial level. The regional analysis of the state revealed that rural poverty is higher in AJ&K compared to urban counterpart. Moreover, gender comparisons revealed that the male head had a higher rate of poverty compared to the female counterpart. The study also measured the income distribution inequality curve - Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient. Similar to absolute poverty at provincial level, AJ&K had a lower level of income distribution inequality suggested that income is more equitably distributed over the population in the state compared to rest of the region of the country. The analysis of poverty bands indicated that 0.06 percent households were extremely poor, 2.75 percent were ultra-poor, 9.84 percent were poor and 18.63 percent were vulnerable to poverty, suggested that there is chance of 18 percent of the population to slip into poverty. Based on these finding, we propose that there should be targeted social programs specifically for rural AJ&K and income support through generating employment opportunities. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the poverty in AJ&K and informed evidence based strategies for poverty reduction and promoting sustainable development.