Editorial

Poverty dropping

Millions remain undeniably poor, but the nature of poverty is changing

Editorial November 20, 2016

PHOTO: FILE

Ask the average person in the street if they felt that the level of poverty in Pakistan had decreased and the answer is likely to be a somewhat puzzled ‘No’. Ask a statistician the same question and the answer is likely to be an unequivocal ‘Yes’ — and for good reason. Measuring poverty is not just about the rupee in the pocket it is multidimensional, and changes shape all the time. There are several measures of poverty currently in play but the World Bank is regarded as having a reliable track record when it comes to interpreting poverty indices and its report titled ‘Making Growth Matter’ tells us that the people of Pakistan have seen not just a small reduction in levels of poverty but a substantial one.

The number of homes with a flush toilet moved from 24 percent in 2002 to 49 percent in 2014. Perhaps to the surprise of nobody motorcycle ownership has increased in the same period from 2 percent to 18 percent. Households are able to spend more of their income on non-food items. Although food insecurity is still endemic food security for many has increased, and there have been significant dietary changes as well with greater diversity. Poor people are spending less on ‘cheap’ calories and more on chicken, eggs and fish as well as milk products, likewise the proportion of their income spent on vegetable and fruit.

Millions remain undeniably poor, but the nature of poverty is changing and is perceptibly reduced across a broad span of indicators. There is greater congruity between rural and urban diets and consumption patterns. A part of this reduction will be because of successive government policies, though the impact on poverty levels of the current dispensation is too early to measure objectively. The WB report runs counter to the stereotypical perception that Pakistan is an irredeemable basket case set on a steady spiral downwards. Seeking to create self-fulfilling prophecies serves nobody well, and broadens universal misperceptions both at home and abroad. Poverty is reducing. It is unlikely to be eradicated and the effects of reduction are going to be uneven and unequal. Rich we are not, less poor we are.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2016.

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COMMENTS (1)

Toticalling | 8 years ago | Reply In the last three decades we have seen reduction of poverty worldwide. That is a fact. Fast-growing economies in the developing world have done most of the work. China lifted 680m people out of poverty. Since 2000, the acceleration of growth in developing countries has cut the numbers in extreme poverty outside China by 280m. In Pakistan the trend is also evident, but there are two weaknesses. The gap between the rich and poor is increasing and jobs of over a million people are not in factories and offices, but temporary jobs like servants, drivers in private homes where there is no limit to working hours and these people have to work 12 hours a day to survive and in case of sickness, they are on the street again. Millions live better because their close ones work abroad and support them to survive. The bottomline is that there is no alternative but creating productive jobs in production and distribution of industrial goods.

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