Evaluating Socio-Economic Correlates of Severity of Covid-19 Impact With Implications for Well-Being: A Case Study of Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: The World Health Organization (WHO) has proclaimed COVID-19 as a pandemic due to which each country has imposed a lockdown to control the viral disease. The above restrictions have created many global social, economic, and psychological problems. The current study is designed to evaluate the socio-economic correlates of the severity of COVID-19 impact with implications for well-being in Pakistan.

Research Gap: To analyze the socio-economic correlates of the severity of COVID-19 impact with implications for well-being in Pakistan; most of the studies used qualitative research methods and descriptive analysis; however, some used quantitative research methods but did not provide a detailed analysis using econometric methods. This study will use representative survey data of Pakistan, collected by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to fill up this gap.

Design/Methodology/Approach: An ordered logistic regression technique and a generalized ordered logistic regression model will be used to analyze the COVID-19 impact.

The Main Findings: The findings show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, household severity increased. The results show that the pandemic’s severity among households has increased by 19.9% due to domestic job loss. Similarly, reduced healthcare services have also raised the probability of households being severely affected by the pandemic.

Theoretical / Practical Implications of the Findings: The findings of the study are applicable for policymakers to proactively plan for any pandemic or epidemic in the future. Policymakers must pay massive attention to the jobs, strengthening the healthcare services and social safety nets and aid programs in Pakistan that can reduce the households’ severity.

Originality/Value: The contribution of the study is to provide an econometric analysis of the socio-economic correlates of the severity of COVID-19 impact and evaluate the impact of the pandemic concerning job loss, food insecurity, and limited access to healthcare facilities.