ABSTRACT
Introduction The recent debate on income inequality and economic liberalization in Pakistan began in the late 1990s. There has been widespread concern that liberalization and excessive reliance on market forces are increasing inequality at the national and provincial levels and in urban and rural areas. There have also been apprehensions that growing income inequality is exacerbating unequal access to basic social services such as education and health. Many studies have examined the trends of inequality in Pakistan, employing different methods, living standard indicators (household income or consumption), and data sources. Inevitably, they have generated divergent results.
