Decades after trade liberalization, poverty among the developing countries has continued to rise as their economies adjust to fierce and increasing external competition. This study investigates the impact of the 1988 trade reforms on poverty in Pakistan using micro-level data from 1990 to 2005. Using the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) model in panel setting to address the problem of heteroskedasticity, we explored the impact of trade liberalization on the poverty level in Pakistan. The findings reveal that reductions in import tariffs have increased Pakistan’s level of poverty. Our findings are robust and impervious to different poverty measures (i.e., headcount ratio, poverty gap, and squared poverty gap). Also, it was observed that lagged trade policies are associated with poverty in Pakistan. The rise in poverty may be attributed to the lower participation of the poor in external markets. It is recommended that policymakers enact policies that will encourage poor people to participate in external markets if they wish to benefit from trade liberalization.

Tourism has been the fastest-growing sector in the world over the last decade, contributes to employment opportunities, and generates earnings in foreign currencies. Tourism intensively needs energy to promote tourist activities, which in turn causes economic growth. However, as almost all tourist activities, like hotel accommodations and transportation, strongly depend on energy use, it may contribute to increased energy consumption. Our study explores the impact of tourism on energy consumption in the BRICS (i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) by using the panel data set of 1995–2014. In this study, feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) and Panel corrected standard error (PCSE) panel regression techniques are used for empirical analysis. The results reveal that tourism has a positive and significant impact on energy consumption. Our findings are robust and unaffected by the use of various energy consumption proxies and econometric techniques. Furthermore, our findings are robust and significant due to the inclusion of various controls such as financial development, gross fixed capital formation, total population, and gross domestic product. The policy implication is that governments should promote the tourism sector as a way to boost the growth of their economies. Sustainable tourism can help these economies achieve sustainable development.

Rapidly growing health expenditure is a matter of grave concern for households and governments. Every government is compelled to allocate a sufficient budget to improve people’s health. This study, therefore, identifies some major factors that influence the trajectory of public health care expenditure (HCE) in Pakistan for the period 1974–2017. The ARDL-bounds test and Bayer-Hanck cointegration test consistently reveal that HCE and its specified determinants are cointegrated. Long-term estimates show that healthcare infrastructure and services, income, and environmental degradation exert a positive influence on HCE. Elderly population size has a negative association with HCE. Income elasticity is inelastic, showing that healthcare is a necessity. The findings suggest that the government must pay due attention to the fair distribution of health-related infrastructure and personnel in all regions of Pakistan.