Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors of household Expenditures: A Case Study of Southern Punjab (Pakistan)

Abstract

Household expenditures are the main source of society's well-being and welfare. The examination of socioeconomic and demographic determinants of Household Expenditure in Southern Punjab is the major objective of the study. The primary data of 785 households is collected in Southern Punjab. The estimation analysis is based on the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) methodology. The age of household head, years of schooling, household size, Remittances, the value of assets, number of earners, distance of health center from household residence, the distance of the school from household residence have a positive effect on household monthly expenditures in Multan division, D.G Khan division, Bahawalpur division, and Southern Punjab. The households which belong to the informal sector have a negative relationship with monthly household expenditures in all three divisions and Southern Punjab. The association between the area of residence and monthly household expenditures is positive in all three divisions and Southern Punjab. The result shows that households living in urban areas of Southern Punjab have more expenditure as compared to rural areas. The presence of disease and household expenditures are negatively related to each other in Southern Punjab. Therefore, this study suggests that health facilities should provide at a large scale in various divisions of southern Punjab.