Social-cultural impacts of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on the well-being of local community

Abstract

In this research, the impact of infrastructure improvement as a result of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative on the well-being and quality of life (QOL) of residents has been studied. Using the primary data collected from the local population of the Baluchistan province of Pakistan, a link between the socio-cultural effects of CPEC development and the subjective well-being of local citizens has been established. A total of 495 relevant responses were used to assess the well-being of the population through structural equation modeling. Results have shown that the social, cultural, and educational benefits of local communities are significant predictors of the well-being of citizens, and QOL issues have shown to have a major impact on the well-being of citizens. However, findings have also shown that the community resource has an important link with the subjective well-being of citizens. Furthermore, the results also give the local community perceptions of the CPEC initiative; hence the officials of the province can use the findings of this study to create prospective approaches based on the local community perceptions toward better exploitation of CPEC as an opportunity.