Unpacking Pakistan’s Poverty

Episode 10

Widespread poverty has plagued Pakistan for decades. In 2022, 21.9% of the population was reported to be living below the National Poverty Line. The recent economic crisis has worsened this state of affairs and has doubled concerns about the disproportionate impact of rising poverty on the lives of Pakistan’s population, particularly those segments that are already poor and disadvantaged. Dr. Ijaz Nabi and Dr. Imran Rasul delved deep into these issues in the latest episode and discussed the merits of cash vs in-kind social protection in the Pakistani context.

Dr. Ijaz Nabi is a Country Director at the International Growth Centre (IGC) and the Executive Director at the Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR). He is also part of the visiting faculty at the Department of Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Previously he worked at the World Bank. Dr. Nabi has a Ph.D. from Warwick University.

Dr. Imran Rasul is a Professor of Economics at University College London. His research interests include labor, development and public economics and his work has been published in leading journals such as the American Economic Review, Econometrica, Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Review of Economic Studies.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of CDPR or any of its affiliates.