Trends and Determinants of Rural Poverty: A Logistic Regression Analysis of Selected Districts of Punjab

Poverty is widespread in the rural areas, where the people are in a state of human deprivation with regard to incomes, clothing, housing, health care, education, sanitary facilities and human rights. Nearly 61 percent of the country’s populations live in rural areas. In Pakistan poverty has been increased in rural areas and is higher than urban areas. Of the total rural population 65 percent are directly or indirectly linked with agriculture sector. In Pakistan more than 44.8 percent people generate their income from agriculture sector, and the higher rate of increase in poverty in the rural areas has provoked debate on growth and productivity trends in the agriculture sector. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to determine such factors which affect the poverty status of a rural household. Utilising unique IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute) panel data together with sub-sample of PRHS (Pakistan Rural Household Survey) for two districts of Punjab (Attock and Faisalabad) the present study aim at analysing and estimating the rural poverty trends and determinants of rural poverty from the late 1980s to 2002. The data was analysed by using binary logistic model and head count measure. The results show that the chance of a household tripping to poverty increased due to increase in household size, dependency ratio, while, education, value of livestock, remittances and farming decreased the likelihood of being a poor. Moreover, the socio-economic opportunities as represented by the availability of infrastructure in the residential region also play a significant role in the level of poverty faced by a household. This study makes a modest contribution by attempting to analyse the need for focusing on anti-poverty policies, which can nip the evil in the bud.Rural Poverty, Poverty Trends, Agriculture Growth, Determinants

Trends and Determinants of Rural Poverty: A Logistic Regression Analysis of Selected Districts of Punjab

Poverty has many dimensions, like malnourishment, no shelter, being ill and not having ability to visit a doctor, no facility to go to school, unemployment, uncertainty of tomorrow, surviving only one day at a time. Poverty is losing a kid to illness due to the infected water. Powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom is another name of poverty. Poverty is of many types varying from place to place and time to time, and, has been portrayed in various manners. Poverty is the “incapability to maintain a minimum living standard anticipated with respect to basic consumption needs or some amount of income required for satisfying them [World Bank (2006)]. The bulk of the global poor are rural and will linger on thus for numerous decades. The major portion of their expenditure is generally on staple food. They have little assets such as land and others, lack of schooling and face lots of interconnecting obstacles to develop. Approximately 1.2 billion people globally expend less than a standard; “dollara- day”; and are in “dollar poverty”; 44 percent in South Asia about 24 percent each in Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia and 32 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean. Almost 75 percent of the dollar poor lived and worked in rural areas in 2001. Projection made in 2001 suggested that 60 percent would continue to be in this state in 2005 [IFAD (2001)]. Pakistan’s population is estimated at around 155 million, and is growing at 1.9 percent per annum. Nearly 61 percent of the country’s populations live in rural areas. While 65 percent of the rural population is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture sector, it constitutes only 45 percent of their income [Pakistan (2006)]. According to the official statistics, poverty in the rural areas has gone down form 39 percent in 2001-02 to 28 percent in 2005-06. [Pakistan (2006)]. However, some studies have contradicted these contentions and argue that in contrast, the rural poverty has remained unchanged or even been trending higher over this period or at least not decreased as much as shown in official statistics. [Kemal (2003); Malik (2005); World Bank (2006); Anwar (2006)]

Linking Sustainability-Oriented Marketing to Social Media and Web Atmospheric Cues

Acknowledging the widespread use of social media and the exponential growth of digital technology, a number of reputable organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have shifted their traditional marketing tools to approach new markets for the growth of their businesses. Such companies have introduced their business over social media in order to gain greater attention from the consumers. However, the major concern addressed regarding how products and services are promoted online is regarding sustainable marketing. It is explored that most of the consumers tend to view online businesses by visualizing essential factors that reflect sustainability and thus, SMEs have started to analyze specific web atmospheric cues, which contribute in developing social media according to consumer behavior and their perceptions. To assess the research area, the following study is performed to understand possible measures that are significant in bridging business and consumer needs. This research incorporates a quantitative research method for gathering specific data by using questionnaires. From the findings of the research, it is analyzed that consumers are likely to perceive and give attention to social media by analyzing specific cues, including visuals, ethics, information, social, and security. It is concluded that SMEs could foster their online businesses by adopting effective sustainable marketing strategies aligned according to specific web atmospheric cues