Impact of Village-specific, Household-specific, and Technological Variables on Poverty in Punjab

Rural poverty remains a serious problem in Pakistan, with more than 30 percent of rural population living in absolute poverty. In rural Pakistan there is a big gap between rich and the poor. While the stake of competition for position and status concerns the rich, the struggle for survival in the midst of increasing crises embarrasses the poor. The rural poor—the pauperised class—are week and powerless with inadequate command over resources relative to needs. In fact, the polarisation process which is making the rich richer and poor poorer is a consequence of poverty. Neither the poor nor the outside well wishers have the power to break the vicious deprivation trap. It is consensus that rural social structure is responsible for rural underdevelopment.