The Pakistan Development Review
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Democratic Institutions and Variability of Economic Growth in Pakistan: Some Evidence from the Time-series Analysis
Get PDFThis paper explores the empirical association between
democracy and per capita output growth in Pakistan using data for the
period 1947 to 2006. The findings of the paper indicate a weak negative
association between democracy and output growth. Consistent with some
current empirical literature, democracy is also found to influence
output growth indirectly. The empirical results are robust to different
democracy variables and output growth equation specifications. The
empirical findings also highlight the role of other variables in
determining output growth and, except for rising oil prices, show its
positive linkage to physical and human capital, government consumption,
openness of trade practices and inflation. JEL classification: C22, O43
Keywords: Democracy, Growth, Time-serie
A Dynamic Analysis of the Relationship among Human Development, Exports and Economic Growth in Pakistan.
Get PDFThis study investigates the econometrically empirical evidence
of both the short-run and long-run interrelationships among human
development, exports and economic growth in an ARDL framework for
Pakistan. This study also examines causal linkages among the said
variables by applying the Augmented Granger Causality test of
Toda-Yamamoto (1995). By using data on Pakistan’s real GDP, real exports
and Human Development Index (HDI) for the period 1970-71 to 2008-09,
three models have been estimated. The results show cointegration between
economic growth, physical capital, real exports and human development
when human development is taken as dependent variables. Furthermore,
unidirectional Granger causality running from real GDP to real exports
has been found in Bivariate, Trivariate and Tetravariate causality
framework. The inclusion of HDI as a measure of human development
reduces the physical capital share in real GDP whereas it improves the
robustness of the regression model. Real GDP seems to provide resources
to improve human development in only the long-run while human capital
accumulation does not seem to accelerate real GDP both in the short-run
and the long-run. The empirical results of the study do not support
‘export-led growth hypothesis’ and human capital-based endogenous growth
theory in case of Pakistan, however, it does support ‘growth-driven
exports hypothesis’ in case of Pakistan. JEL classification: O11
Keywords: Human Development, Exports, Economic Growth, ARDL,
Causalit
William J. Baumol, Robert E. Litan and Carl J. Schramm. Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism and the Economics of Growth and Prosperity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. 321 pp.
Get PDFThe central idea of the book is that Capitalism has many
forms—some good, others bad, with entrepreneurial capital being the
best. The authors argue that the spectacular economic performance of the
developed world is owed to the ‘good capitalism’ practised over there
and that the blame for the poor performance of many economies must lie
with one or the other kind of ‘bad capitalism’, that these economies
continue to practise. The authors identify policy tools that can help
countries in making a transition from ‘bad capitalism’ to ‘good
capitalism’. The introductory chapter ‘Entrepreneurship and Growth’
gives an overview of the key elements of an entrepreneurial economy. In
the next chapter, the authors question ‘Why Economic Growth Matters’ and
convincingly rebuff those who question the virtues of growth. To those
who put limits on growth the authors’ answer is: “the same process of
technological advancement that undermined Malthus’ dire prediction about
population growth may be able to quiet the concerns of modern day
Malthusians who worry about disappearing energy”. Chapter 3 conducts a
comprehensive review of modern growth theories with special focus on
innovation and institutions. After reviewing the work of Solow, the
authors move directly to the influence of institutions on growth. They
argue that institutions take time to develop and that growth depends on
‘home grown’ institutions. The long time required to develop growth
promoting institutions may explain why dictators have been successful in
Korea and Singapore in boosting growth, while the time horizon of the
politician is shorter, at best extended up to the next elections. The
authors’ emphasis upon ‘home grown’ institution is also a verdict
against the Washington Consensus
Measuring Impact of Education and Socio-economic Factors on Health for Pakistan.
Get PDFEducation affects health not because of the knowledge and
practices one can learn at school, but rather it shapes individuals life
and can alter the characteristics of an individual to be healthier.
Measurement of health is an abstract concept and health itself is
affected by a number of factors. This study aims at exploring whether
there is any relation in education, gender, and health for Pakistan.
Exploratory data analysis and ordinal logistic regression are used here
to assess relationship between health, education and other
socio-economic factors. It is evident that individuals with higher
education level tend to have better health status than a person with
lower levels of education. There is also evidence of gender being an
important determinant of health in Pakistan. The variation in health
status of individuals is studied with reference to gender, culture,
occupations, and social economic status. This study provides a useful
piece of information for the policy-makers in health and education
sectors. The data used in this study was collected by Pakistan and
Medical Research Council under National Health Survey of Pakistan [NHSP
(1990-1994)]. JEL classification: L00, L20, C21 Keywords: Education,
Self-reported Health, Ordered Logit, Health Conditions, Pseudo
R
Sector Level Analysis of FDI-Growth Nexus: A Case Study of Pakistan.
Get PDFThe main objective of the study is to empirically investigate
the differential impact of services and manufacturing Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) on economic growth over the period of 1972 to 2008. The
study further examines the role of FDI in presence of macroeconomic
instability and privatisation. For the investigation of long run,
Autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) has been used. For short run
results, we used Error correction method (ECM). Our empirical results
show that FDI inflow in both, service sector as well as manufacturing is
contributing to economic growth positively. But it is apparent from the
results that contribution of services FDI to growth is greater than that
of manufacturing FDI to growth. Furthermore, the results provide
coherent and sound policy recommendations for further policy adaptation
regarding sectors. JEL classification: F23, F36, F43, C32 Keywords:
Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Growth, Manufacturing Sector,
Service Sector, Co-integratio
Consumer Satisfaction in Social Security Hospital: A Case Study of Punjab Employees Social Security Institution Hospital, Rawalpindi.
Get PDFIn health care, consumer satisfaction is an important
evaluation instrument to determine the quality of services. In recent
years, the concept has assumed much greater significance particularly in
market based health systems. Also, in World Health Organisation’s
framework for health care assessment, the customer satisfaction is given
due consideration. On the contrary, in developing countries
particularly, the concept is one of the most ignored elements in
evaluation of health care systems. Pakistan is also a case in point.
Review of literature and general health management systems in the
country suggests scarcity of information on consumer satisfaction as
well as its neglect as a crucial element in health systems. This present
study—which is cross-sectional—is designed on the ground that there is a
need to incorporate consumer satisfaction in health care evaluation.
This study, presents a scientific analysis of Punjab Employees Social
Security Institution Hospital, Rawalpindi (PESSI) using the Patient
Survey Questionnaire technique, the most universal approach used by
international studies to evaluate consumer satisfaction with health
services. Based on study results, generally, we conclude that consumers
have expressed high level of satisfaction for various quality assessment
scales. Despite these findings, it has also been noted that significant
proportion of patients have also expressed medium as well as low
satisfaction for certain scales. It tends to suggest that quality of
services needs to be improved for specific items as well as certain
scales including communication, general satisfaction, and interpersonal
aspects for improvements in provision of certain services at the
hospital. JEL classification: I11, I18, I38 Keywords: Customer
Satisfaction, Quality, Healthcare, Evaluatio
Fasih Uddin. Pakistan under IMF Shadow. Islamabad: Institute of Policy Studies, 2008. Paperback. 128 pages. Price not given.
Get PDFPakistan like many other developing countries has been
experiencing both financial and fiscal instability. This is mainly
because it has miserably failed to generate sufficient resources
required for its economic development. Consequently, to supplement its
meager domestic resources, it has been mostly seeking foreign
assistance. At times when ‘friends of Pakistan’, for their own ulterior
motives, such as support for the cold war and war on terror, have helped
Pakistan through project and programme aid, it has kept striving to move
towards a higher path of economic growth despite poor governance and
mismanagement of the economy by its planners and economic managers. At
other times, when the ‘friends’ have been slow to coming forward,
Pakistan has looked for financial aid from international financial
institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the
World Bank. These institutions always attach stringent conditions to
financial assistance. As a result, these institutions remain
(implicitly) instrumental in the formulation of short- to medium-term
economic policies of Pakistan, with outcomes that are always considered
as sub-optimal
An Analysis of Technology Adoption by Export-oriented Manufacturers in Pakistan.
Get PDFThis paper analyses the issue of technology adoption by
export-oriented enterprises based on survey data. Using the Rank Model
of technology adoption, the paper explores the role of several firm
level characteristics that can influence firm’s decision to adopt new
technology. The results show that younger and bigger firms have a higher
probability of technology adoption. Firms that have obtained
certifications to product and process standards demonstrate a higher
likelihood of technology adoption. Domestically-owned firms are found to
have a higher probability of technology adoption as compared with
foreign-owned firms. The empirical findings underscore the need for
policy options to encourage export-oriented enterprises to adopt new
technology including, for example, fiscal incentives to encourage
research and development activities, and up-gradation of physical
infrastructure for product testing to facilitate certifications. JEL
classification: C25, L60, O14 Keywords: Manufacturing Industries, Probit
Model, Technology Adoption
Skill Shortage versus Subject Choice: Case of Pakistan
Get PDFHigher Education is believed to be a very important
determinant of economic growth. The growth can be optimised with a
suitable combination of skills in various subjects. A mismatch between
required combination of skills and available combination of skills
carries heavy costs for developing economies since import of skill from
foreign is much more in expensive for such economies. We compare skill
shortage in Pakistan with the subjects choice of students recently
enrolled in institutes of higher learning. We found that there is a
mismatch between skill shortage and the enrolment trend. We propose that
the Government should regulate recruitment of students into various
subjects in order to create greater harmony between national needs and
students enrolment. JEL classification: J08, J82 Keywords: Subject
Choice, Skill Shortage, National Need
Public Sector Innovation: Case Study of e-government Projects in Pakistan
Get PDFThis study analyses and examines in detail the impact of
public sector innovation to improve public satisfaction level, it is
about changing the traditional government into a more integrated and
efficient one. Innovation is actually the engine of economic growth.
Innovation in the public sector is an under-researched area. It deals
with governance, political and human issues which are very difficult to
solve. Since much of the topic and studies on innovation are focusing on
the private sector, it is the aim of this study to analyse the process
of innovation, mainly in Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
in the public sector. This study will eventually be able to give
e-government model/ guidelines that encapsulates the reality of
innovation by the government. Innovation in government is not only about
bringing a new breakthrough product to the people, but also to bring in
changes to the culture in the organisation, the way a decision is made,
and perhaps more importantly, how it can use technology to strengthen
its role as the provider of social and economic welfare to the people.
This study has also compared the findings of the e-government case study
to the literature of innovation mainly in the area of process
innovation. There is SWOT analysis with weight rating to judge the
e-governance challenges, which Pakistan is facing as a developing
nation. The study concludes that the public sector needs to overcome its
traditional characteristics of poor agenda setting, unclear objectives,
lack of transparency, and bureaucratic layers of decision-making
processes. Keywords: Citizens, e-government Projects, ICT, Public
Satisfaction, Public Sector Innovatio