The Uneven Economics of Protests: Understanding Social Unrest and Income Dynamics in Pakistan
Description
This dataset contains district-level panel data for Pakistan covering the period 2011–2021, compiled to examine the relationship between social unrest and income dynamics. It combines average monthly household income estimates derived from PSLM/HIES surveys with annual counts of protests, riots, and political violence events sourced from ACLED. The data include multiple categories of unrest (protests/riots, violence against civilians, remote violence, strategic developments, and battles) and are structured for panel and quantile regression analysis. The dataset supports research on income distribution, regional inequality, and the economic effects of different forms of social unrest in developing countries.
Files
Steps to reproduce
To reproduce the results, merge district-level average monthly household income data from PSLM/HIES with annual district-level counts of social unrest events from ACLED for the period 2011–2021. Construct a balanced (or near-balanced) panel by interpolating missing years and forecasting income for 2017 and 2021 using simple exponential smoothing. Generate unrest variables as annual event frequencies by district and category. Estimate fixed-effects panel regressions to obtain mean effects, followed by panel quantile regressions (xtqreg and qregpd) across selected quantiles (e.g., 0.10–0.90). Use clustered or robust standard errors, conduct Hausman tests for model selection, and visualize distributional effects using simultaneous quantile regression with bootstrap confidence intervals.
Institutions
- University of the Punjab