Spatial disparities in household expenditure on safe drinking water in Pakistan: An application of geographically weighted regression

Equitable access to safe drinking water is a global concern, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. Improvement towards accessibility of safe drinking water would enhance economic well-being/human pros-perity by reducing regional disparities. This study has two major objectives. First, it identifies the spatial patterns and the spatial relationship between contiguous districts concerning household expenditure on safe drinking water. Second, it examines the local varying spatial impact of various sociodemographic factors on expenditure on safe drinking water by applying geographically weighted regression. The study results revealed that spatial patterns of high-high and low-low clustered districts were located mainly in Baluchistan and Punjab provinces, respectively. In addition, the GWR results exhibited that household income, family size, and access to television facilities were significantly associated with household expenditure on safe drinking water. Moreover, the local GWR coefficients of these variables vary across districts of Pakistan which confirmed the existence of geographical disparities in terms of household expenditure on safe drinking water. Thus, policymakers and the government must prioritize the high-high clustered districts by focusing on the key determinants of expenditure on safe drinking water.