Openness, Institutions, and Sectoral Dynamics in Pakistan's Water Stress
Contributors
- Ali Raza Zaidi Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, Government College University, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan.
- Dr. Muhammad Ali Nizamani Assistant Professor, US Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan.
- Dr. Rafiq Chandio Professor, Department of Economics, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan.
Abstract
Water stress is a big hurdle to sustainable development in Pakistan and the attainment of SDG 6. This study aims to analyze various economic, demographic and institutional indicators related to water stress in Pakistan with the help of World Bank data for the period 1999-2023 and based on the known statistical techniques to explore the relations between these indicators. The results indicate that agricultural output has a positive effect of 15.719 (p < 0.01) on water stress and population density has positive effect of 1.596 (p < 0.01) on agricultural output. Water stress also has a positive association with environmental policy stringency, 24.448 (p < 0.05). Similarly, lagged foreign direct investment has a positive and significant coefficient of 31.010 (p < 0.01). In contrast, trade openness has a negative coefficient of −1.190, which is not statistically significant (p > 0.10). The results reinforce the importance of efficiency in irrigation, of the implementation of environmental policy and of the introduction of sustainable water management into urban planning. The results, however, are difficult to generalize since limited provincial data exist. Further research is needed to explore regional variations for better and more regionally appropriate water policies.
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Corresponding Author
Ali Raza Zaidi
Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, Government College University, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan.
Corresponding Author: [email protected]
