Spatial Differences and Socioeconomic Determinants of Health Poverty

Abstract

The study aims to develop health poverty index (HPI) using the Alkire Foster (AF) Method for Pakistan based on district representative data obtained from Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) 2012-13. Using HPI, this study investigates the spatial differences of health poverty at sub-national level and explores the socioeconomic determinants. The analysis reveals that the headcount health poverty is 41 percent in Pakistan. Further, the ratio is very high in rural areas (50 percent) as compared to urban areas (22 percent). Provincial analysis shows that Punjab is the least poor province (36 percent) while Balochistan is the poorest province (62 percent). The majority of the households are deprived in term of cost of health services, post-natal care and child immunisation. Empirical analysis shows that income, regional variation, education and awareness play very important role in explaining health poverty. To eradicate health deprivation, area and dimension specific policies are required to make efficient use of scarce resources. JEL Classification: I12, I32, J18 Keywords: Health Poverty, Spatial Analysis, Alkire Foster Method