Inflation identified as most severe shock impacting livelihoods

Islamabad: Dr Shujaat Farooq, Dean, Research, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), has said that 76 per cent of the households surveyed in 2010 were successfully re-tracked in 2024, an exceptional achievement in longitudinal research.

Dr Farooq was addressing a seminar on “Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS): key insights and implications for policymaking” unveiling findings from “PPHS 2024” conducted here by PIDE in collaboration with Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

PPHS expanded from 16 to 30 districts, including major urban centres such as Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad and Peshawar. The 2024 round covers 8,621 households nationwide.

The 2024 wave also introduced several new research modules, including learning poverty, care work, disability, financial literacy and a detailed child well-being and parenting section along with modernised consumption categories such as “eating out.”

Education data from PPHS 2024 revealed both progress and persistent challenges. While literacy rates improved, 34 percent of Grade 3–8 students still cannot solve Grade-2 level division problems, highlighting severe learning poverty. Affordability remains a key barrier, with 71 percent of parents citing financial constraints as the main reason for school dropout. Middle- and matric-level dropout rates stand at 34 percent and 21 percent, respectively, underscoring significant inequalities in learning outcomes.

Labour market data showed mixed trends. Male labour force participation slightly declined from 80 percent to 78 percent, while female participation increased modestly from 23.7 percent to 26.9 percent over 14 years. Despite the small gain, women remain concentrated in agriculture and informal jobs with limited access to higher-value sectors. Occupational mobility also stagnated, as the shift from blue- to white-collar work remains minimal.

In terms of intergenerational mobility, the findings are encouraging. University graduates now make up 9 percent of the younger generation compared to only 1 percent of their fathers showing progress in educational attainment. Ownership of inherited parental homes increased from 58 percent to 81 percent, and half of surveyed families (50 percent) perceive themselves as financially better off than their parents.

On the health front, the survey highlights major progress. Antenatal care coverage increased by 28.5 percentage points since 2001, reaching 80.9 percent, while skilled birth attendance rose by 69.5 points to 88.5 percent. Home births dropped sharply to 11.6 percent — a decline of 57.5 points — and TT vaccination coverage reached 72.3 percent, marking a 35-point improvement. However, regional disparities persist, particularly in Balochistan, where access to maternal healthcare remains limited.

Child malnutrition trends show improvement, with stunting declining from 60 to 43 per cent and underweight children dropping from 50 to 33 per cent, although wasting increased slightly. Food insecurity, however, remained widespread. Only 19.5 per cent of households can always afford desired meals, while 30 per cent sometimes go without three meals a day. Inflation was identified by more than 60 per cent of households as the most severe shock impacting their livelihoods.