The Pakistan Development Review
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Determinants of Corruption in Developing Countries
Get PDFCorruption is a limp in the walk of human progress. It is not
a new phenomenon; it is as old as the history of mankind itself. The
corruption made itself visible when the institution of the government
was established. According to Glynn, et al. (1997), “…..no region, and
hardly any country, has been immune from corruption”. Like a cancer, it
strikes almost all parts of the society and destroys the functioning of
vital organs, means cultural, political and economic structure of
society Amundsen (1999). All this was proved by the major corruption
scandals of France, Italy, Japan, Philippine, South Korea, Mexico,
United States etc. These scandals bring the corruption problem on the
agenda of major international institutions like International Monetary
Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, Transparency International
and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developmen
Cecilia Tacoli (ed). The Earthscan Reader in Rural-Urban Linkages. London / Sterling, VA: Earthscan. 329 pages. Hardbound. Indian Rs 995.00.
Get PDFThe linkages between ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ locations, people,
and activities contribute significantly to livelihoods and act as
engines of economic, social, and cultural transformation. There is an
increased interest among officials and policy-makers to better
understand the opportunities and constraints that these linkages offer.
Divided into five parts, the fifteen chapters, of this book bring
special attention to the impact of rural-urban linkages on different
aspects of sustainable development. Chapter 1 presents an analysis of
recent census data, with special attention to small urban centres. David
Satterthwaite argus that the rural and urban divide misses the extent to
which rural households rely on urban incomes, while many urban
households in low-income nations rely on rural resources and a
reciprocal relationship with rural households. There is a need to forget
this divide and see all settlements as being within a continuum with
regard to both their population size and the extent of their
non-agricultural economic base
Long-run Performance of Public vs. Private Sector Initial Public Offerings in Pakistan
Get PDFThe private sector had its major share in the economic
development of the country in the early years of its independence in the
1950s. However, the private sector suffered a set back in the early
1970s, when a huge process of nationalisation of a large number of
private industrial units was undertaken by the then government. Over the
decades these enterprises were not professionally managed and the
political influences in the management and running of these enterprises
played havoc with them and consequently the experiment proved to be a
failure. Attending to the weaknesses and inefficiencies inherent in the
public sector enterprises, privatisation was systematically initiated by
the then government in the early 1990s. Various privatisation
commissions were set up in subsequent years and the privatisation
process got some momentum during the present government and many large
and profitable firms were privatised in the last few years, particularly
at a time when the overall climate in the country was responsive and
conducive for investment. The government, however, privatised many
enterprises through public offerings on individual-case
basis
Land Tenure and Management: An Analytical Appraisal
Get PDFThe total area of Pakistan is 796101 sq. km (310,400 sq.
miles) of which 414659 sq. km (160100 sq. miles) comprises mountainous
terrain, narrow valleys and foot hills. The remaining 381442 sq. km
(150300 sq. miles) consists of sand, deserts and flat gradational
plains, the most important feature of which is Indus River Basin Plain
with an area of about 311771 sq. km (123400 sq. miles). The area of
principal hydrologic units is given in Table 1
Underemployment, Education, and Job Satisfaction
Get PDFThe economic role of human capital, particularly education has
long been documented by economists and policy makers [Becker (1964)].
According to some observers view, educational system is an effective
vehicle for producing the skills required to maintain growth in the
economy.1 The versatile impact of education on every aspect of human
existence makes it a vital area for policy framework especially for
developing countries. Developing countries where majority of world’s
population resides need to maximise productivity and capabilities of the
advanced human capital. The benefits of education range from human to
economic, social and cultural. At human level, education contributes in
attractive self esteem and confidence leading towards empowerment. In
Pakistan, there is significant rise in the average level of education,
but over time, more and more workers incapable to use their educational
background on the job. Two decades ago, it was judgment that supply of
labour meeting the demand of labour. However in recent years, it is
argued that supply of some skilled labour may have outstripped the
demand of labour in some professions and high qualified peoples taking
positions of low qualified peoples. Such underemployment/over-education
has not been fully explored in Pakistan
International Competition, Debt, and Uneven Development in a North-South Macroeconomic Model
Get PDFThis paper examines whether the intensification of
international competition widens the gap between developing and
developed economies. The intensification of international competition
with an influential trade union in the North is known to lower the
North’s markup rate. This paper is unique because it points out that the
intensification of international competition can widen the North-South
gap when the Southern debt is taken into consideration. It also shows
that the egalitarian policy in the North as influenced by trade unions
is compatible with its international policy: relief of interest
payments
Corporate Debt Policy—Pre- and Post-financial Market Reforms: The Case of the Textile Industry of Pakistan
Get PDFThe literature provides evidence that the capital structure of
a firm is often a combination of several securities; it can arrange (1)
Bank loan (2) issue debentures/bonds, (3) issue shares (4) lease
financing, or (5) utilise its retained earnings. Eventually number of
ideas and theories has been developed to discuss the optimal capital
structure. Optimum is the trade-off between the benefit of tax and costs
of financial distress; a firm faces due to the borrowed money. Although
extensive research work has been done on the capital structure but still
it remains one of the unsettled topics in finance. Optimal capital
structure has an impact on corporate profits. Debt is considered as the
cheapest source of financing due to tax shield, higher the firm’s tax
bracket more the debt is advantageous to a firm. The trade off theory
states that higher debt is associated with higher profitability. Three
reasons support this theory; one debt allow tax shield. Second, more
trust is built on profitable companies considering more sustainable and
less prone to bankruptcy; hence high profitable companies are able to
seek more debt. Third, agency cost, for the profitable firms,
lenders/creditors give relaxation in monitoring charges, which reduces
the debt cost. This motivates profitable firms to go for more
debt
Environmental Effects of Trade Liberalisation: A Case Study of Pakistan
Get PDFWithin today’s global economy countries now trade more
intensively and frequently than in the past. Trade has become an
increasingly important global economic activity, with annual trade
volumes increasing sixteen fold over the last fifty years and the ratio
of world exports to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) now approaching twenty
percent. With this recent acceleration of global trade, countries
throughout the world have benefited from more investment, industrial
development, and employment and income growth. Other positive effects
include increased mobility of capital, increased ease of movement of
goods and services (and information) across national borders as well as
the diffusion of global norms and values, the spread of democracy and
international environmental and human rights agreements. Critics of
trade liberalisation argue that these much-acclaimed advantages of trade
liberalisation (and globalisation) often underrate the impact of
globalisation on widening the economic gap between the North and the
South. Over the years, attention has been given to the advantages of
trade liberalisation and globalisation to the detriment of the
disadvantages. The major disadvantage that is always swept under the rug
is the environmental problem. Recently, however, there has been an
increasing concern over the potential negative impacts of trade
liberalisation, particularly on the environmental and natural resources
of developing countries
Decube Framework: An Introduction to a New Energy Modelling and Planning Process for Sustainable Utilisation of Pakistan’s Energy Resources
Get PDFSustainable Development—which ensures that the use of
resources and the environment today does not restrict their use by
future generations [UNEP (2007)]—is the most significant challenge
facing today’s governments. Consequently, the notion of Sustainable
Development [Matthews (1979)] has become a fundamental part of any
policy and decision carried out at national and international levels. If
the current acceleration of human advancement is not reduced it poses
the biggest threat to long term sustainability of the entire globe,
arising from the development and industrialisation in the twenty-first
century, dwarfing the impact of twentieth century. This further
compounds the work of policy-makers faced with the challenge of fast
tracking the economies of developing countries. Since the Industrial
Revolution energy has become the lifeline of economic development and
progress. This led to exponential increase in use of fossil fuels.
However, rampant, unchecked and accelerated burning of fossil fuels in
the twentieth century has resulted disastrous and long term damaging
effects to earth’s climate. Consequently, world has begun this century
with the aim “to develop a coherent and practical approach to climate
change [World Energy Council (2007)].” “Safe, environmentally sound and
economically viable energy pathway that will sustain human progress into
the distant future is clearly imperative [WCEW (1987)]” to achieve the
above goal. As a result environment has become an integral part of any
energy system and policy. On the whole today’s energy policies and
decisions have to be carefully woven into an intricate web traversing
the boundaries of economy, environment and society
Land Inequality by Mode of Irrigation in Pakistan, 1990-2000
Get PDFIn Pakistan agriculture land accounts for a large portion of
total wealth and the distribution of this land effects household welfare
and agriculture efficiency. Evidence shows that in developing countries,
land inequality is detrimental to overall efficiency due to incomplete
markets and therefore results in welfare losses to those with little or
no land as there are several benefits associated with access to land
[Vollrath (2007)]. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy of
Pakistan which contribute 22.4 percent to Gross Domestic Product, 43.05
percent of labour force engaged in agriculture sector and 67 percent of
population reside in rural areas out of which 30 percent of people
living below the official poverty line. As the climate of Pakistan is
arid to semi arid, its 80 percent agriculture is irrigated. Pakistan has
one of the largest irrigation system in the world based on Indus basin
irrigation system which plays an important role in the development of
agriculture and the nature of distribution of irrigation water across
farm size groups determines to a significant extent the nature of
distribution of agriculture income