Social exclusion in Pakistan: an ethnographic and regional perspective

PurposeThis paper is an attempt to analyze the nature and extent of social exclusion across regions, ethnolinguistic groups and different professions in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachBy using household level data of Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey, the authors have constructed Social Exclusion Index (SEI) as well as multidimensional deprivation scores across of the households. SEI has been developed by using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) whereas multidimensional deprivation scores have been calculated by following the methodology proposed by Alkire and Foster 2011. In total nine household level indicators related with living standards, education and health have been used for this purpose. In next step the relationship of different household characteristics such as profession of household head region of residence and ethnolinguistic identity has been explored with SEI and multidimensional deprivation scores.FindingsThe empirical results of our analysis show that even after controlling for the income of household, SEI and multidimensional deprivation scores have been found to be significantly different across different professions, different regions and different linguistic groups.Originality/valueThis confirms the prevalence of social exclusion in Pakistani society. Compensatory government policies are suggested as an option to cope with the problem of social exclusion.