Economics Commons^™

Sindh: Floods And Rural Economy - Part 2, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

On top of the adverse global and national developments in a post-pandemic world, Sindh and Balochistan got severely hit by extraordinary torrential rains in a short interval of time. During this time, the average rainfall received was 1100 mm — five times the normal. According to the Sindh chief minister, flooding from Balochistan amounted to 120 maf of flood water equivalent to the capacity of multiple Tarbela Dams. The dysfunctional or nonexistent drainage system contributed to the miseries of the people as large swathes of land on both the left and right bank are still inundated. The upcoming wheat cultivation …

Sindh: Floods And Rural Economy ‐ Part I, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Sindh has a population of around 50 million. There is an equal division – 52 per cent live in urban areas while 48 per cent in rural areas and around 38 per cent of them derive their livelihoods from agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing. The organized manufacturing sector and services have little presence in the rural areas and much of what exists primarily caters to the needs of the rural population. The agriculture sector, which is the main driver of the rural economy, has not performed well because of inequitable land distribution and poor resource management particularly that of water …

Resetting Foreign Economic Relations : Part – Iii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Gulf States: Pakistan has enjoyed very friendly relations with the Gulf States. The first generation of Emirates rulers were very favourably disposed towards Pakistan as they received a lot of cooperation in their journey towards the modernization of the country. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have absorbed a large number of Pakistani workers in their labour force and are the two top sources of remittances. The UAE is one of the major trading partners and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait suppliers of petroleum products and crude oil while Qatar has long-term contracts for LNG. These countries have been coming to Pakistan’s …

G3 Cpec Summit ‘21 - Cpec: Emerging Geo-Political And Geo-Economic Landscape Opportunities And Challenges, China Study Centre, Institute Of Business Administration, Nasir A. Afghan, Huma Naz Baqai, Ans Dahr

China Study Centre - Research and Reports

In the wake of recent developments in the region, specifically US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the role of new Afghan government in regional connectivity and economic integration, IBA China Study Centre commenced one-day day hybrid summit on “CPEC: Emerging Geo-political & Geo-economic Landscape Opportunities and Challenges”

The aim of this one day summit was to explore and identify the future opportunities and challenges for China Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s economic, information, and trade corridor. Our objective was first to understand the challenges faced by the Afghan government in Afghanistan. Also, to brainstorm and find the common and shared areas for future …

Post-Pandemic And Post-Floods Rural Sindh Economy, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

The Dynamics of the 21st century is clearly pointing out that despite the impulses of De globalization , protectionism and nationalism in the advanced countries the nations of the world are becoming increasingly dependent on each other. The three clear manifestation of the growing trends exhibited in the recent years are (1) Covid19 pandemic (2) Global warming and climate change (3) consequences of financial integration. The main purpose of this paper is to convey the message loud and clear that even a small part of the world economy such as rural Sindh cannot escape the wrath of the pandemics , …

Resetting Foreign Economic Relations : Part - Ii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

China: there are several areas where the ongoing cooperation between Pakistan and China should be continued but at least three areas need to be focused for accelerated implementation. These are: one, completion of ongoing projects under CPEC – addition of capacity to the national power grid by bringing the hydropower, renewable energy and coal projects to culmination. The ML1 Railway track has been pending approval and financing for several years and each year of delay adds to the logistical costs to the economy and fiscal deficit by absorbing the losses of Pakistan Railways operating an outdated system. The Gwadar Port …

Resetting Foreign Economic Relations : Part I, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

The 2021 National Security Policy has made geo-economics its main pivot. It is therefore essential to look in a coherent and comprehensive manner how Pakistan’s economic relations with other nations should evolve to meet this objective. In designing foreign economic policy we should always keep in mind that such a policy would be a by-product of the country’s larger foreign and domestic economic policies. For example, if foreign policy with one particular country or group of countries is silent, ambivalent or agnostic then a foreign economic policy cannot be built upon strong economic cooperation with that country or group. Similarly, …

Economic Prospects Of Gilgit Baltistan - Part Iii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

The recent initiative taken by the GB government to introduce STEM subjects right from the school level is highly commendable. This initiative is quite unique and far sighted. Instead of the traditional recruitment of teachers the government is engaging a private sector provider (PSP) through an open competitive process for imparting digital learning at 34 selected schools to begin with. The PSP would post a resource person in each school to establish complete e-learning environment in schools including servers, routers, power back ups, etc. They would use the Learning Management system (LMS) to deliver the content, set up centralized data …

Economic Prospects Of Gilgit Baltistan - Part Ii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

The community organizations have built bridges, irrigation channels and other small infrastructure projects at much lower costs as they participated in the supply of labour and land parcels for these projects . The incentive structure made them realize that this would lead to the doubling of their farm incomes The improved marketing of produce through better roads and bridges contributed to accretion in farm incomes and increased food security. These community organizations have also been able to improve social indicators such as school enrollment, student retention, nutrition, water supply and sanitation which look relatively better than other provinces in Pakistan …

Economic Prospects Of Gilgit Baltistan - Part I, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

This article is part of a series to raise general awareness about the economic conditions and potential of the provinces and territories which do not have the same advantages as the other advanced parts of the country. The first article on Balochistan’s development was published a few months ago. This one is focused on Gilgit Baltistan (GB) .

India’S Economy At 75 : Part Iii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Despite impressive achievements since 1991, India is facing several major challenges. A major problem is absorbing its youth in a productive labour force and finding gainful employment for them. Half of its population is under the age of 25. Only 35 per cent of the working age population has a job while 12 million new entrants would enter the labour force every year. The past record in labour absorption, despite impressive economic growth, has not been stellar. The great divide between the organized and unorganized parts of the economy is growing. Ninety per cent of the jobs are in the …

India’S Economy At 75 : Part Ii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

India’s success factors may be many but three salient features need emphasis. First, Indian entrepreneurs are dynamic, vibrant and innovative. They even used the socialist economy regime of control and license raj for ‘learning by doing’. Just to give an example, India had a ramshackle automobile industry dominated by two outdated models until the 1990s. The suppliers, engineers, vendors, parts manufacturers did acquire the techniques of supply chain management, production and distribution under most adverse circumstances. When the economy did open up in the post-1991 period and the private sector allowed to set up manufacturing industries without prior approvals, among …

India’S Economy At 75 : Part I, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

India was considered by its colonial rulers as the brightest jewel in the British crown as it was relatively well-endowed in terms of natural and human resources, physical infrastructure, and entrepreneurship. India’s social and economic indicators at the time of independence were similar to those in the countries of Southeast Asia and China in terms of level of poverty, illiteracy, and health status. When independence was achieved, continuity with the past was least disrupted as the majority of the experienced civil servants who administered British India opted to serve the newly independent country. Another advantage was that the political party …

Seventy-Five Years Of Pakistan’S Economy, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

A large majority of Pakistan’s population was born after the country got its independence. The median age today is 23 years and the youth have only experienced economic difficulties and hardships in their lifetime. They are hardly aware of the glory days of Pakistan. Despite the many articles that have appeared on this subject, it is essential to make them aware of the historical context in which they are today leading their lives. At the time of independence, the prospects of the economic survival of a ramped Pakistan appeared quite dim as it inherited an extremely weak and fragile economy. …

High Time To Live In The Modern World, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

At the time of independence, Pakistan had no industry worth its name and therefore the corporate sector, even in its rudimentary form, was non-existent. The government, therefore, had to play a catalytic role in nurturing the development of the private sector by pursuing policies that protected the newcomers from international competition.

Repairing Provincial Finance, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Most of the discussion and discourse on public finances has remained focused on the federal government and FBR. The analysis of provincial finances has been sketchy and shallow, although it should occupy a salient place in the aftermath of the 18th Amendment and 7th National Finance Commission Award. It has been a decade now since the provincial governments have enjoyed both administrative, legal, and political autonomy and a large dose of injection of financial resources out of the divisible tax pool.

The Life And Times Of Dr. Ishrat Husain, Abdullah Niazi

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

No abstract provided.

How Gen. Musharraf Restructured The Economy, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

President Musharraf assumed power in October 1999 under difficult circumstances when Pakistan was already facing sanctions for nuclear testing, further compounded by sanctions against the military takeover. External liquidity had dried up due to the freezing of foreign currency deposits in May 1998. The new government assigned priority to debt restructuring and reforms in taxation, trade, the financial sector, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and deregulation of private businesses. This article provides a first-hand, data-driven account of Pakistan's economic record during 2000-2008, demonstrating that sustained economic growth was possible because a strong government mobilized domestic resources and ensured they were utilized …

The Sri Lanka Paradox : Part – Ii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Sri Lanka recorded a rapid increase in public debt-to-GDP ratio to 119 per cent from 42 per cent over a few years. Access to the international capital market was lost, export earnings plummeted, and import payments swelled up due to global price increases, prompting depletion of foreign exchange reserves to critically dangerous levels. Export earnings from tourism – which were $4.4 billion in 2018 or 5.6 per cent of GDP – dipped to 0.8 per cent of GDP. Remittances started drying up too, shrinking from $612 million in April 2021 to $205 million by February 2022. Petroleum prices tripled from …

The Sri Lanka Paradox : Part – I, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Sri Lanka has long been admired by development economists, international financial institutions, and public intellectuals for leading South Asia in all economic and social indicators. Per capita income of $3853 in nominal terms (almost twice as much as India’s) and $12850 in PPP dollars, poverty headcount (measured at $1.90 per day) less than one percent of the population and multidimensional poverty of 16 per cent placed the country ahead of every other country in the region. Sri Lanka was the first one to pursue economic liberalization, as early as 1977, by introducing a less restricted foreign trade and investment regime …

3rd Annual International Conference Proceedings: Challenging Linearity, Centre For Business And Economic Research (Cber), School Of Economics And Social Sciences (Sess)

Conference Proceedings

As we live in an era where the knowledge landscape is rapidly changing and becoming more complex, answering age-old questions about our society, economy, and environment has become more challenging today than ever before. In the wake of this change and challenge, falling back on linear and myopic conclusions is sometimes all too irresistible. A fatigue of imagination that leads to easy answers seems to be prevalent within several disciplines and is sometimes driven by ideological biases. Resultantly, the progress in addressing economic disadvantage, social isolation, and discrimination, psychological distress remains suboptimal often because of linear conceptual frameworks which fail …

Rebuilding Human Capital, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

When countries face short term financial crisis it is natural that more deep rooted and important issues are neglected perpetuating the cycles of economic instability from time to time. It may appear to be a hoarse cry at this stage when our attention is focused on agreement with the IMF, finding resources for our external financing requirements, rapid depreciation of rupee, foreign exchange reserves, debt servicing payments, FBR revenues , to raise questions that span medium or long term time horizon. Given the changing nature of our external environment if we do not prepare ourselves for meeting the future challenges …

Food Price Volatility And Household Welfare: A Case Study Of Major Cities Of Pakistan, Nigar Zehra, Ambreen Fatima

Business Review

The purpose of this paper is to find the impact of food price volatility on the welfare of urban households of Pakistan. Food price volatility in monthly prices of major food commodities for main cities of Pakistan is calculated through standard deviation method. Moreover, the study adopts the methodology provided by Alkire and Foster 2007, and Alkire and Santos 2010 to develop Household Deprived Welfare Index (DWI) for major cities of Pakistan. Following Deaton 1985, the study uses pseudo panel approach. Fixed Effect technique is applied to estimate the impact of volatility on household welfare. The results generated from pseudo …

How To Break A Vicious Cycle : Part – Ii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

It goes without saying that political stability is the sine qua non for any sustained effort to achieve rapid and inclusive growth. The main drivers of such growth would be small farm agriculture, SMEs and microenterprises, construction and low-cost housing, tourism, IT and IT enabled services, diversification and value addition in exports. Thus, the agenda proposed for the short, medium and long term should have a continuous chain, linking and consolidating the gains from these sectors and stimulating inter-sectoral synergetic impulses over time. Continuity of these policies beyond the electoral cycle is an absolute must. There are multiple pathways to …

How To Break A Vicious Cycle : Part – I, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

A state of uncertainty, almost at the verge of panic, prevails today in Pakistan. Prophets of gloom and doom using social and electronic media are spreading all kinds of fake, negative, partial and partisan stories and numbers. Predictions of default, bankruptcy and similarity with Sri Lanka are jarring the equity, debt and currency markets and pushing the credit default rates on Pakistani bonds in international markets to unprecedented elevated yields, making it difficult to tap these markets. However, one should present the facts and data unvarnished and untarnished. Yes, we are facing a large current account deficit that is putting …

Pakistan And The Steam Economy: Part - Ii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Global trade in services has grown more than 60 percent faster that of goods trade over the past decade and given its relatively higher rate of growth it is conceivable that services trade may catch up or even surpass global goods trade in the next decade or so. We have to discard the old notion that it is only industrialization and goods exports that would lead us to the path of economic wellbeing and strive hard to promote services trade led by digital technology. Services create almost one-third to one-half of the value that goes into traded manufactured goods in …

Sir : Save, Implement And Review, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

The new coalition government has assumed power at a time of deep external and internal economic difficulties in the midst of a highly-polarized polity and society. The immediate temptation would be to distance itself from what the previous government had done and formulate a brand new package of initiatives. Unfortunately, this tradition is to be broken as it has always proved counterproductive and instead of remedying, it only aggravates the economic situation. In such uncertain times, sensible policy decisions need to be taken immediately to reassure the international financial community (institutions, credit rating agencies, bond markets and foreign investors), trading …

Economic Costs Of Judicial (In)Actions : Part Ii, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Huge amounts of money has also been invested by aspiring middle class families in purchasing plots of land, booking apartments and renting dwellings. Due to the absence of a weak and fragmented regulatory framework and prevailing corrupt practices in land allocation, utilization, conversion and registration, a large number of irregular and illegal housing cooperative societies have sprung up throughout the country taking over fertile agriculture land and also sucking in billions of savings of middle class aspirants for getting decent housing. Many of these societies have left incomplete structures and buildings not fit for occupation while legal proceedings are held …

Economic Costs Of Judicial (In)Actions : Part I, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Pakistan inherited a legal and judicial system from the British rulers. While the colonial masters have moved forward with time and modified their laws and procedures consistently, we are still frozen in the 1850s. A number of well-informed commentators have diagnosed the weaknesses and shortcomings of the system, both on substantive matters as well as procedural issues. There is a broad consensus that the present system is inequitable, expensive, protracted and time consuming. The proceedings span decades to obtain a final decision and, having reached that stage after so many appeals and reviews by multiple tiers, the execution of decrees …

East Asia’S Inclusive Growth Model : Part – Iv, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

The seventh lesson from East Asia is the emphasis on science and technology as an essential ingredient for economic progress. Considerable attention was paid to science and technology and higher education and research both in the private and public sectors as well as academia. Korea and Taiwan (a non-Asean country) sent teams to recruit their nationals working in the US, and offered them lucrative and attractive packages to hire them back to their countries of origin. These scientists and engineers taught at the local universities and colleges, set up research institutes, worked in the laboratories and on product development of …