Education and Poverty Relationship in Punjab

Abstract

As education is being increasingly promulgated as an effective tool to reduce poverty, it is pivotal to evaluate the impact of different levels of education on poverty. This chapter analyzes the relationship between education and poverty in Punjab, using data from the primary survey of 1520 households collected over 2008-2010 from rural and urban habitations. Analysis has been done at the household as well as the individual level. Apart from making simple comparisons between standard of living, income and education level, logistic regression has been employed to sort out the determinants of poverty.

Standard of living and PCI are positively associated with education level at the household as well as the individual level, implying improvement in educational attainments reduces the likelihood of being poor. The results of logistic regression are in line with the generally accepted theory that educational attainment is critical in declining the incidence of poverty and should be given due consideration in implementing poverty alleviation programs. As one would expect, experience is negatively related with poverty status.