HOW DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES SHAPE LABOUR’S PRODUCTIVITY IN RURAL SETTING: A CASE STUDY OF CHITRAL

Abstract

This study explains how labour’s productivity is influenced by various circumstances like demographic, environmental, economic circumstances in rural areas of Chitral a District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.  The study used community based purposive sampling method to collect data from 381 workers from scattered regions and workplaces. Before proceeding to formal tests, reliability test and collinearity assessment tests were applied. The data turned out reliable and no serious collinearity was detected among regressors. To achieve the objectives of the study, multiple linear regression analysis was applied on the collected data. The theoretical foundations of this study lied in the Sen’s Capability approach theory, which captures the important external factors and individual’s capabilities in determining worker’s productivity. The results showed that human capital is the strongest predictor of labour’s productivity in Chitral. Whereas, the environmental circumstances, discrimination, economic instability have negative impacts on productivity. The demographics and housing quality also played important impact on labour’s outcomes.  Overall, this study explains that the labour’s productivity in rural settings is not only impacted by personal efforts rather, it is influenced by a combination of structural, contextual and demographic circumstances which either limit or support the labour’s performance and efficiency. This study has significantly contributed to the literature of regional development and labour economics by providing in dept and context-specific identification of determinants of labour’s productivity in geographically isolated, remote and marginalized area of Pakistan. The study also provide policy recommendations based on the findings of the study. Moreover, the study highlighted the limitation of the study and also provide future research directions.

 Keywords- Circumstances, Productivity, Capability Approach theory, Human capital, collinearity.