Governance in Provision of Public Services and Standards of Living in Pakistan

Abstract

In this study we analyze the differences in state of governance in provision of public services in rural and urban areas and its impact on the perception about the standards of living in Pakistan. The study is based on nationally representative survey conducted in 2013 at the end of five years tenure of a democratically elected government. The results of the generalized ordered logit model and ordered logit model shows that in rural areas the owner ship of productive assets matter more than monthly consumption expenditure while with usage of most of the public services, except rural health units, courts and Banzir Income Support Program (BISP), there is higher likelihood of deterioration in standards of living. Contrary to rural areas, in urban areas, higher monthly consumption expenditures increase the likelihood of rise in living standards, while, ownership of assets do not. As in case of rural areas, most of the public services have negative impact on the perception about standards of living except NADRA and courts.