Khadija holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Glasgow, UK. She has taught both undergraduate and postgraduate students and thus possesses rich experience of teaching at various levels and in different disciplines, including development economics and economic data analysis. Khadija was employed by the Scottish Government in the Equality Statistics Team and also had various posts in the Pakistani Government Service. She was a lecturer in Economics at the FEF Degree College for Girls as well as the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar.
Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on happiness index with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of household’s happiness with the current socio-economic status. We estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent a well-being perspective adds to our understanding of poverty. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations where children have a negative impact on overall well-being, this study suggests a positive impact on well-being and poverty. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan.
The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of health satisfaction with a particular empha... more The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of health satisfaction with a particular emphasis on how leisure-time spent in parks determines the overall well-being, including the health satisfaction among the park visitors. Our data have been collected from park visitors in four major public parks in urban Pakistan based on a multistage non-random sampling technique. The results from the regression analysis suggest that besides socio-economic characteristics like being well-educated and richer; the amount of weekly leisure-time spent in park plays a positive and significant role in well-being. In particular, health satisfaction mediates the relationship between the amount of weekly leisure-time spent in park and subjective well-being among the park visitors in the study area. Policy makers should hence put more emphasis on park facilitation to encourage park visitation to ensure greater happiness and better quality of life particularly in terms of health satisfaction. This in ...
Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on life satisfaction with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of households’ satisfaction with the current socio-economic status as well as financial well-being regarding satisfaction with the current income
This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decomp... more This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decompose income inequality according to its different sources. We calculate Gini coefficients and Theil indices both within and across provinces and districts. A partial correlation analysis extends our descriptive investigation to reveal the different impacts of the various income sources on overall income inequalities. The unique focus
Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan, this paper tries to investigate subjective well-being ... more Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan, this paper tries to investigate subjective well-being across the life span, taking various socioeconomic factors into account. The results suggest that well-being is positively associated with being male, educational attainment as well as the health and employment status. Living in a relatively affluent area contributes positively as well. In contrast to empirical evidence on industrialized countries, happiness increases with the number of children. Our results moreover suggest a U-shaped age-happiness pattern. Taken together, these findings corroborate the notion of children offering insurance to the elders against economic risks in countries where the social safety net is relatively weak. Providing a subjective well-being perspective, this study may therefore also add to our understanding of the relatively high birth rates in many developing countries, giving rise for appropriate policy considerations.
Drawing on time-series data from Khyber Pukhtun Khuwa (K.P.K) province (the Northern Pakistan), a... more Drawing on time-series data from Khyber Pukhtun Khuwa (K.P.K) province (the Northern Pakistan), an attempt has been made to evaluate the role of investment on primary education sector in improving literacy rate of Peshawar district. Using statistical analysis, a relationship between literacy rate and its potential determinants has been tested. The findings revealed that the major determinants are the budgetary allocation to primary education sector and the number of primary schools that matter positively and significantly. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing literature, with special reference to Pakistan.
Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we estimate a happiness model to explore
to wha... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent an economic perspective adds to our understanding of subjective wellbeing poverty. The data elicits information on subjective well-being in general and particularly on financial well-being in terms of household's happiness with the current income or expenditure. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations this study suggests a positive impact of children on wellbeing and poverty due to their productive contribution. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan. Secondly, it brings new and strong empirical evidence to alternative approaches to subjective well-being poverty.
This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent in... more This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent income determines household-specific health outcomes in rural Pakistan using our survey data. Controlling for various socio-economic characteristics, we investigate validity of the three income-health hypotheses: the Absolute Income Hypothesis, the Relative Income Hypothesis and the Income Inequality Hypothesis (IIH). Whilst these hypotheses crucially differ in their exact substance, broadly speaking, those refer to the idea that a household’s health status might be linked to the existing socio-economic environment. Households with a more favourable income position (either in absolute, relative or distributional terms) might enjoy a better health status. We employ a general empirical specification that nests different health functions as special cases. This permits testing the income-health hypotheses separately and jointly. We find that in rural Pakistan both the relative income (with respect to the relevant community) and absolute income are major determinants of health. This is in contrast to results typically reported for developed countries, where in particular the household’s absolute income position appears to matter. The study provides important insights into the causes of health inequalities. For instance, higher income improves health directly because of higher social support and other psychosocial reasons. However, we failed to confirm IIH on pure statistical grounds.
Drawing on a unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the relationship between econo... more Drawing on a unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the relationship between economic and health indicators. The data elicits information on health in terms of number of doctor visits per household and uses income as indicator of their material welfare. We estimate the Poisson regression model for count data (i.e. number of doctor visits per household) which allows us to evaluate the impact of the material standards in different parts of the distribution. The overall effect is higher income reduces the number of doctor visits, because of higher standards of living and a better access to the private as well as efficient health care services.
Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on happiness index with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of household’s happiness with the current socio-economic status. We estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent a well-being perspective adds to our understanding of poverty. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations where children have a negative impact on overall well-being, this study suggests a positive impact on well-being and poverty. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan.
This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decomp... more This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decompose income inequality according to its different sources. We calculate Gini coefficients and Theil indices both within and across provinces and districts. A partial correlation analysis extends our descriptive investigation to reveal the different impacts of the various income sources on overall income inequalities. The unique focus
Environment, Development and Sustainability, Jan 1, 2009
This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empi... more This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empirical evidence in a developing country like Pakistan. It gives alternative views on population environment linkages. It explains poverty trap, market based harmony, and dual effect of poverty on the basis of a link between population growth and natural resource degradation. In addition, the paper also highlights social and political instability through population-poverty-environment spiral. It also presents empirical evidence on population-environment-poverty nexus in Pakistan. It also compares environmental sustainability index and human development index for selected Asian countries. The paper also gives scores for different components of environmental sustainability index for Pakistan and compares these with India. The paper concludes that the causal relationship between poverty and environment works in both directions, often through changes in GDP and population. Population stress does not have any significant direct effect on all aspects of environmental status in Pakistan.
Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on happiness index with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of household’s happiness with the current socio-economic status. We estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent a well-being perspective adds to our understanding of poverty. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations where children have a negative impact on overall well-being, this study suggests a positive impact on well-being and poverty. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan.
The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of health satisfaction with a particular empha... more The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of health satisfaction with a particular emphasis on how leisure-time spent in parks determines the overall well-being, including the health satisfaction among the park visitors. Our data have been collected from park visitors in four major public parks in urban Pakistan based on a multistage non-random sampling technique. The results from the regression analysis suggest that besides socio-economic characteristics like being well-educated and richer; the amount of weekly leisure-time spent in park plays a positive and significant role in well-being. In particular, health satisfaction mediates the relationship between the amount of weekly leisure-time spent in park and subjective well-being among the park visitors in the study area. Policy makers should hence put more emphasis on park facilitation to encourage park visitation to ensure greater happiness and better quality of life particularly in terms of health satisfaction. This in ...
Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on life satisfaction with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of households’ satisfaction with the current socio-economic status as well as financial well-being regarding satisfaction with the current income
This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decomp... more This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decompose income inequality according to its different sources. We calculate Gini coefficients and Theil indices both within and across provinces and districts. A partial correlation analysis extends our descriptive investigation to reveal the different impacts of the various income sources on overall income inequalities. The unique focus
Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan, this paper tries to investigate subjective well-being ... more Drawing on survey data for urban Pakistan, this paper tries to investigate subjective well-being across the life span, taking various socioeconomic factors into account. The results suggest that well-being is positively associated with being male, educational attainment as well as the health and employment status. Living in a relatively affluent area contributes positively as well. In contrast to empirical evidence on industrialized countries, happiness increases with the number of children. Our results moreover suggest a U-shaped age-happiness pattern. Taken together, these findings corroborate the notion of children offering insurance to the elders against economic risks in countries where the social safety net is relatively weak. Providing a subjective well-being perspective, this study may therefore also add to our understanding of the relatively high birth rates in many developing countries, giving rise for appropriate policy considerations.
Drawing on time-series data from Khyber Pukhtun Khuwa (K.P.K) province (the Northern Pakistan), a... more Drawing on time-series data from Khyber Pukhtun Khuwa (K.P.K) province (the Northern Pakistan), an attempt has been made to evaluate the role of investment on primary education sector in improving literacy rate of Peshawar district. Using statistical analysis, a relationship between literacy rate and its potential determinants has been tested. The findings revealed that the major determinants are the budgetary allocation to primary education sector and the number of primary schools that matter positively and significantly. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing literature, with special reference to Pakistan.
Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we estimate a happiness model to explore
to wha... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent an economic perspective adds to our understanding of subjective wellbeing poverty. The data elicits information on subjective well-being in general and particularly on financial well-being in terms of household's happiness with the current income or expenditure. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations this study suggests a positive impact of children on wellbeing and poverty due to their productive contribution. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan. Secondly, it brings new and strong empirical evidence to alternative approaches to subjective well-being poverty.
This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent in... more This paper addresses key aspects of health inequality. We analyse in particular to what extent income determines household-specific health outcomes in rural Pakistan using our survey data. Controlling for various socio-economic characteristics, we investigate validity of the three income-health hypotheses: the Absolute Income Hypothesis, the Relative Income Hypothesis and the Income Inequality Hypothesis (IIH). Whilst these hypotheses crucially differ in their exact substance, broadly speaking, those refer to the idea that a household’s health status might be linked to the existing socio-economic environment. Households with a more favourable income position (either in absolute, relative or distributional terms) might enjoy a better health status. We employ a general empirical specification that nests different health functions as special cases. This permits testing the income-health hypotheses separately and jointly. We find that in rural Pakistan both the relative income (with respect to the relevant community) and absolute income are major determinants of health. This is in contrast to results typically reported for developed countries, where in particular the household’s absolute income position appears to matter. The study provides important insights into the causes of health inequalities. For instance, higher income improves health directly because of higher social support and other psychosocial reasons. However, we failed to confirm IIH on pure statistical grounds.
Drawing on a unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the relationship between econo... more Drawing on a unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the relationship between economic and health indicators. The data elicits information on health in terms of number of doctor visits per household and uses income as indicator of their material welfare. We estimate the Poisson regression model for count data (i.e. number of doctor visits per household) which allows us to evaluate the impact of the material standards in different parts of the distribution. The overall effect is higher income reduces the number of doctor visits, because of higher standards of living and a better access to the private as well as efficient health care services.
Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic ... more Drawing on unique survey data for rural Pakistan, we investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on happiness index with particular emphasis on subjective well-being measurement to evaluate poverty and its different components. The data elicits information on overall well-being in terms of household’s happiness with the current socio-economic status. We estimate a happiness model to explore to what extent a well-being perspective adds to our understanding of poverty. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly. Moreover unlike developed nations where children have a negative impact on overall well-being, this study suggests a positive impact on well-being and poverty. As studies employing good data from developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan.
This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decomp... more This paper analyses income inequalities in rural Pakistan. Using household survey data, we decompose income inequality according to its different sources. We calculate Gini coefficients and Theil indices both within and across provinces and districts. A partial correlation analysis extends our descriptive investigation to reveal the different impacts of the various income sources on overall income inequalities. The unique focus
Environment, Development and Sustainability, Jan 1, 2009
This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empi... more This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empirical evidence in a developing country like Pakistan. It gives alternative views on population environment linkages. It explains poverty trap, market based harmony, and dual effect of poverty on the basis of a link between population growth and natural resource degradation. In addition, the paper also highlights social and political instability through population-poverty-environment spiral. It also presents empirical evidence on population-environment-poverty nexus in Pakistan. It also compares environmental sustainability index and human development index for selected Asian countries. The paper also gives scores for different components of environmental sustainability index for Pakistan and compares these with India. The paper concludes that the causal relationship between poverty and environment works in both directions, often through changes in GDP and population. Population stress does not have any significant direct effect on all aspects of environmental status in Pakistan.
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Papers by Khadija Shams
to what extent an economic perspective adds to our understanding of subjective wellbeing
poverty. The data elicits information on subjective well-being in general and particularly on
financial well-being in terms of household's happiness with the current income or
expenditure. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being
poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly.
Moreover unlike developed nations this study suggests a positive impact of children on wellbeing
and poverty due to their productive contribution. As studies employing good data from
developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the
existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan. Secondly, it brings new and
strong empirical evidence to alternative approaches to subjective well-being poverty.
to what extent an economic perspective adds to our understanding of subjective wellbeing
poverty. The data elicits information on subjective well-being in general and particularly on
financial well-being in terms of household's happiness with the current income or
expenditure. We find that the well-being approach closely depicts the idea of well-being
poverty in terms of the level education, health and income which matter significantly.
Moreover unlike developed nations this study suggests a positive impact of children on wellbeing
and poverty due to their productive contribution. As studies employing good data from
developing countries are rare, this paper can potentially make a good contribution to the
existing happiness literature, with special reference to Pakistan. Secondly, it brings new and
strong empirical evidence to alternative approaches to subjective well-being poverty.