The Pakistan Development Review
Not a member yet
2465 research outputs found
Sort by
Paul Krugman. End This Depression Now! New York, USA: W. W. Norton & Company. 2012. 288 pages. U.S. $ 15.95
Get PDFIn “End This Depression Now!” Krugman has tackled the economic
recession that has plagued countries across the globe in the aftermath
of the 2008 financial crisis. In contrast to other books on the subject,
however, the focus of the author is not on how the crisis and the
resultant recession happened, but rather on the more pertinent question
of what to do now and how to recover from the slump. Krugman is of the
view that the aim should not be merely to avoid a complete collapse, as
several economists and policy-makers seem content to do, but to address
the “chronic condition of subnormal activity” of this recession and
pursue a complete recovery. The author sets the stage by painting a
bleak picture of the impact of the recession on the citizens of
developed countries, countries rich in natural and human resources.
There is a lack of jobs in these countries, as represented by a rising
involuntary employment rate, and the author feels that lives have been
ruined because the recession is lingering on, and because of that,
unemployment is following suit. While temporary unemployment is a
feature of a complex, dynamic economy, persistent unemployment erodes
the employment prospects of workers in the post-recession period.
Moreover, low business investment in the private sector and government
investment in the public sector will have a detrimental effect on
productive capacity in future years as older scrapped machinery is not
replaced, and public sector programmes in education and health are
scaled back
Determinants of Littering: An Experimental Analysis
Get PDFLittering, the improper disposal of small quantities of waste,
is one of the main causes of environmental degradation. To protect the
environment from this degradation, we need to factor out the
determinants of littering behaviour. In this study, we conduct a
controlled laboratory experiment to examine whether people would avoid
littering if the social cost of this behaviour was internalised. Based
on the microeconomic theory relating to externality, we test whether
penalising littering decreases its level compared to when it is not..
The results indicate that when the cost of production of littering is
internalised, the level of littering drops. JEL Classification: C92, D62
Keywords: Litter, Externality, Private Cost, Internalisation,
Experiment, Baseline Treatment, Cost Treatmen
Economics of Property Crime Rate in Punjab
Get PDFThis study intends to ascertain the impact of socio-economic,
demographic and deterrent variables and the effect of technical criminal
know-how and past criminal experience on property crime rate. The
property crime equation comprises of the following independent
variables: population density, unemployment rate, literacy rate, police
strength and number of police proclaimed offenders in a society. The
property crime equation has been estimated by using a time-series data
set for Punjab from 1978 to 2012. We have applied Johansen cointegration
approach to test the long run relationship among the variables.
Empirical findings suggest that police strength has a deterrent effect
while past criminal experience enhances property crime rate in Punjab.
The study finds population density has a significant positive
relationship while education has a significant negative relationship
with property crime rate. Further we also find a negative relationship
between unemployment and property crime which is supported by the
concept of ‘consensus of doubt’ in the discipline of crime and
economics. JEL Classification: D
Disaggregate Energy Consumption, Agricultural Output and Economic Growth in Pakistan
Get PDFThe performance of an economy is generally measured by
sustained rise in GDP growth over the period of time. The economic
growth is the major goal of macroeconomics. According to neo-classical
growth theory, the core factors of growth are labour and capital. In
addition to these factors; technological progress, human capital
development etc. are the most efficient factors of production.
Development of technology and use of mechanisation in production process
require energy at massive scale. So, energy has become a crucial factor
of economic growth indirectly. Energy is widely regarded as a propelling
force behind any economic activity and indeed plays a vital role in
enhancing production. Therefore, highly important resources of energy
will enhance the technology impact manifold. Quality energy resources
can act as facilitator of technology while less worthy resources can
dampen the power of new technology. Ojinnaka (1998) argued that the
consumption of energy tracks with the national product. Hence, the scale
of energy consumption per capita is an important indicator of economic
modernisation. In general countries that have higher per capita energy
consumption are more developed than those with low level of
consumption
Impact of Climate Change on Electricity Demand: A Case Study of Karachi District
Get PDFOut of the climatic variables such as temperature, humidity,
precipitation, cloud cover, etc., electricity demand has been found most
responsive to changes in temperature [Parkpoom and Harrison (2008);
Al-Hamadi and Soliman (2005); Hor, et al. (2005)]. According to National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the decade from 2001 to 2010 was
the warmest worldwide while the rise in surface temperatures of South
Asia region by the end of the century is projected around 3.3oC average
annually (IPCC);1 not only are the average temperatures rising but the
range of extreme temperatures is also widening. Increase in temperatures
can affect human lives significantly; the present study focusses on
examining the impact of climate change on demand for electricity in
Pakistan
Sustainable Energy Development (SED) — New Path for Pakistan (The Allama Iqbal Lecture)
No full textFollowing the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the 2002
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, and the
2012 Rio+20 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, sustainable development has
become a widely accepted concept. World decision makers are seeking a
more sustainable development path through the ongoing UN Post-2105
Agenda discussions, which includes key themes like the Green Economy
(GE) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). They are hoping to
find integrated solutions to many critical problems, including
traditional development issues (such as energy scarcity, economic
stagnation, poverty, hunger, and illness), as well as newer challenges
(like climate change and globalisation). Energy is critical for
sustainable development. Sustainable energy development (SED) is an
operational framework involving the harnessing of energy resources for
human use, in a manner that supports lasting development [Munasinghe
(1995)]. We begin with a review of sustainable development itself,
before describing the key role of energy. The World Commission on
Environment and Development originally defined it as “development which
meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs”, and there have been many
subsequent redefinitions
Ilhan Niaz. The Culture of Power and Governance of Pakistan 1947–2008. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. 2010. 320 pages. Pak Rupees 595.00
Get PDF“The Culture of Power and Governance of Pakistan 1947–2008” by
Ilhan Niaz makes a strong case for the quotation, “the one who does not
remember history is bound to live through it”. In the book, the author
has tried to trace the current culture of power and governance in
Pakistan through the rich history of the subcontinent. He has asked the
question that why the State of Pakistan is constantly losing its writ as
many incidents, such as the “Laal Masjid” debacle, are challenging the
writ of the state. He has also analysed why State of Pakistan is always
facing issues in domains of administration, legislation, execution and
judiciary. These issues are becoming existential threat to the Pakistani
State. The author has blamed the rulers of Pakistan who behave like
“Bureaucratic Continental Empires”
Reverse Capital Flight to Pakistan: Analysis of Evidence
Get PDFCapital flight from Pakistan has remained one of the major
concerns of policy makers, mainly because of the nature of private
capital outflows; that is, whereas private citizens hold a large amount
of foreign assets, the country’s burden of foreign debt continues to
grow. Capital flight over and above normal levels raises serious
concerns. Capital flight induces foreign donors to demand repatriation
of private capital held abroad in return for their support. Previous
studies have largely ignored the fact that illegal capital flow is a two
way phenomenon. Private citizens’ foreign capital is brought into the
country when time is opportune. Using the measure of trade misinvoicing,
this paper finds that between 1972 and 2013 the (net) reverse capital
flight in Pakistan was of the order of about $30 billion. To explain
this phenomenon, the paper examines the evolution of Pakistan’s exchange
and trade control regimes in four phases. It is found that reversed
capital flight increased during liberal regimes when both current and
capital accounts were liberalised, meaning that in the absence of strong
regulatory bodies, private citizens could manipulate trade and exchange
laws. The paper offers some specific policy recommendations to restrict
cross-border movement of capital through illegal channels. JEL
Classification: F21, F32, H2
