Inter-District Inequalities in Social Service Delivery: A Rationalised Approach towards Funds Disbursement

Social sector development in Pakistan has been the focus of researchers over the past decades but coverage of these services still remains limited. Although considerable resources have been allocated for social service delivery, people at large have suffered from existing inequalities in the delivery of these services. Utilising the MICS 2007-08 data set, we look at the prevailing inequalities in access to education, health, and physical infrastructure across the districts of Punjab. We highlight the weaknesses of public institutions in providing social services and acknowledge the contribution of the private sector in improving access to these services. The paper emphasises the need for an adequate allocation of resources by the provincial government to the districts in order to remove the growing inequalities within districts and between districts. An effective approach for funds disbursement from the provinces to the districts should be based on the current level of access to social services. This paper attempts to establish a rationalised methodology for funds distribution at the district level, so that a larger population has access to basic services. The outcome of declining inequality in social service delivery will help the lot of lagging districts, and may limit inter-district migration to some extent.