Factors Determining Poverty and Child Mortality in Pakistan

Abstract

The objective of the study was to check the factors determining poverty and child mortality in Pakistan. We used secondary data, collected from various economic surveys and the World Bank. OLS technique used to find the relationship between variables. Consumer Price Index (CPI), GDP growth, number of hospitals, and unemployment used as independent variables. For poverty, female literacy rate, male literacy rate, immunization, and GDP growth used as independent variables for child mortality. The study showed that CPI, GDP growth, and the unemployment rate have a positive relationship with poverty whereas the number of hospitals has a negative relationship with poverty. Furthermore, the study revealed that the female literacy rate has a negative impact on infant mortality while the male literacy rate has no significant impact on the infant mortality rate. Immunization has a negative and significant relationship with the infant mortality rate. GDP growth has a positive impact on the infant mortality rate due to high inequality in Pakistan. Authors recommended that parental education, water quality, and motivation to mothers to utilize health facilities can play an important role to reduce poverty and child mortality.