Impact of Female Literacy Rate and Health Facilities on Infant Mortality Rate in Pakistan

The paper assesses the role of education as one of the contributors to economic growth and suggests how various institutions can come as key players to develop methodology equipped to sustain the growth process. The recent economic reforms have handed over the major social sectors such as health and education to the provincial units, thus the future of these sectors seems bleak. The analysis is from a provincial perspective by developing link between the aforementioned sectors as role players in human capital development. The paper analyzes the impact of female literacy on infant mortality in the 35 districts of province of Punjab, Pakistan. The set of variables was selected after a thorough review of empirical studies. These variables are indicators of health, environment, economic status and literacy status of these districts. Inferred from empirical analysis it is evident that in developing and developed economies female literacy generates a significant impact on infant survival rates. The analysis suggests that male literacy and other variables more or less indicate same relationship as expected. Whereas female literacy remains ineffective in reducing infant mortality rates in case of Punjab. The article also mentions the role of institutions by mentioning success stories from the world, where institutional collaboration and effort led to solution of the problem. Therefore, it can also be suggested that the presence of institutions and quality of service delivered are major factors that are important to achieve targets. JEL Classification: 110,121