Journals of Forman Christian College
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Households Study on Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditures in Pakistan: Mahmood Khalid and Abdul Sattar
Get PDFPublic Health expenditure to GDP ratio has remained low in developing countries and general public has no choice but to seek healthcare from their own pocket, which has remained the dominant source of financing. In Pakistan, out of pocket expenditures are around 70% of the total health expenditures. The study analyzed the out of pocket health expenditure patterns of Pakistan historically, across provinces, rural and urban areas. Further it compares between below poverty line and above poverty line households with reference to out of pocket health expenditures to analyze the potential of catastrophic health expenditures pushing marginalized group into a poverty trap. The study found that absolute amount of health expenditure by private households and government are increasing over the time, but the health related spending shares of household incomes are declining, which should be a major policy concern. The study further shows that in rural areas lack of health facilities pushes people to spend more to buy health care privately indicating health services inequality. Finally the lack of health facilities and improper medical facilities may be a significant factor for high disease prevalence rates and health problems in these areas. This further reinforces the people to spend more even for the minimum health care, which if catastrophic can push people into poverty
The Impact of Trade Liberalization and Institutional Quality on the Services Sector of Pakistan: Abdul Farooq and A. R. Chaudhary
Get PDFPer capita income and productivity of the services sector are very low in the developing nations, including Pakistan as compared to the developed nations. The present study examines the short run and long run impacts of trade liberalization, financial development, and quality of institutions on the growth of the services sector of Pakistan using time series data over the period of 1984-2013.The Cobb[1]Douglas production function has been augmented by adding quality of institutions, trade liberalization, and financial development variables to probe the impacts they have on the growth of services sector of Pakistan. The most recently developed combined cointegration technique by Bayer and Hanck (2013) has also been used to check the cointegration among the variables. Long run empirical results show that trade liberalization and financial development contributes positively to the growth of the services sector of Pakistan. The role of institutions is insignificant which means that the institutional development is still far away from taking the advantage of trade liberalization. These results suggest that trade liberalization and financial development process should carry on in the services sector as well. Moreover, to procure further benefits of trade liberalization in this sector, Pakistan should pay attention to developing political and economic institutions, because well-functioning institutions are a prerequisite to boost foreign trade and growth of the services sector of the country
Transmission Mechanism of Intergenerational Mobility in Socio-Economic Status: Malik Muhammad and Shabib Haider Syed
Get PDFThe strength of intergenerational mobility in socio-economic status represents the equality of opportunities available to the citizens. It affects motivation, efforts, innovations and productivity of individuals and thereby overall inequality and economic growth of a country. In less mobile societies, opportunities of success are not equal and are limited for the less educated poor segment. Not only their current but also the future generation remains under developed. Skills and talents of the poor are wasted and their motivations of getting education and working hard decrease. This impedes them to move to the high status occupations. There are different mechanisms through which the socio-economic status is transmitted from the generation of the parents to their children. At family level, the investment on the part of the parents in the form of social, human and health capital of their children determine their socio-economic status. At social level, environment available to an individual, social network, self-identity in the society etc. play their roles in intergenerational mobility of socio-economic status. Similarly, genes affect the level of ability of the children and transfer cognitive and non-cognitive skills from the parents to the children. Genes also affect human capital through health of the children which in turn determines their level of income. Finally, the pattern of marriages plays its role in the mobility of socio-economic status as parents give due consideration on the socio economic status of the children’s partners. The trend to marry in the similar families causes persistence in socio-economic status
Workers’ Social Capital and Firms’ Output Performance: Empirical Evidence from Small and Medium Firms: Mirajul Haq, Iftikhar Ahmad and Bisma Hafeez
Get PDFThe study aims to investigate empirically whether workers’ social capital attributes affect firms’ output performance. To achieve this objective, workers of small and medium firms are interviewed, and empirical analysis is carried out at the firm level for a sample of 100 firms, located in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Findings of the study suggest, at large, workers’ social capital attributes have a positive effect on firms’ output performance. This indication is derived from the fact that in six out of nine specifications, the social capital attributes of workers enter the model significantly and positively. Perceiving the result prudently, firms’ output performance upsurges with the extension of workers’ social participation and networking, whereas decreases as workers’ preserve more social trust attributes. The result points towards the fact that a certain level of trust may prove beneficial; having enhanced exchange of unstated learning and hazard taking. However, firms that exceedingly trust other firms might be misguided in both input and output decisions, which poses a negative impact on their output performanc
Exploring the Impact of Resource Inequity on Student Performance in Pakistan – A Temporal Analysis
Get PDFIn the wake of the global learning crisis, the present study explores the concept of resource inequity and its consequential impact on student performance in Pakistan. To achieve this end, it incorporates both, the demand-side and supply-side educational resources and evaluates their impact on proficiency in literacy and numeracy, utilizing nationally representative cross-sectional microdata collected by the National Education Assessment System (NEAS). The focus of the study is on Grade 4 students who appeared in the National Assessment Test (NAT) in 2008 and 2016, allowing us to conduct a temporal analysis of the results. The dataset is comprised of 11,943 students from 2008 and 13,004 from 2016. For empirical estimation, multiple linear regression analysis is performed. The findings have highlighted that teachers’ conduct in the classroom consistently emerged as the most influential factor in its association with student performance. School infrastructure, easy access to school, socio-economic environment around a student, students\u27 conduct at home, along student engagement in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities also significantly improved student performance. The study has concluded that supply-side educational resources have a stronger impact on student performance than demand-side educational resources. These insights offer practical guidance for policymakers to develop strategies addressing both immediate and long-term challenges in Pakistan\u27s education system, aiming to improve student performance and ensure educational resource equity
Loneliness, Cognitive Functioning, and Quality of Life in Older Adults.: Mahnoor Naveed, Aleesha Riaz, and Nudra Malik
No full textLoneliness and cognitive impairment is a serious concern among the older adults and is a significant factor influencing elderly quality of life. The current study aimed to examine the associations among loneliness, cognitive functioning and quality of life in Pakistani older adults. The study is cross sectional study with a non-probability purposive sample comprising of 149 Pakistani older adults of ages 60 years and above. Internationally standardized scales have been used to collect online data. Multiple linear regression results indicate that loneliness (β= -0.23, p<.001) and cognitive functioning (β= 0.32, p<.001) are significant predictors of the quality of life in older adults. Furthermore, older men scored higher on loneliness and cognitive impairment than older women and the overall quality of life was better in women participants as compared to men. There is need for social and health interventions to promote the quality of life of elderly population, especially in times of pandemic, with specific focus on reducing loneliness and cognitive impairment
Self-efficacy, Life Satisfaction and Quality of Life in Local Tourists of Pakistan.: Amber Gillani, Muhammad Nasar Iqbal, Fatima Javed, and Shahyan Qamar
No full textThe present study was conducted with the aim to investigate the relationship between Selfefficacy, Life satisfaction, and Quality of life in local tourists of Pakistan. Data was collected from local tourists, a total of 151 men and women. A correlational research design was used along with snowball sampling to collect data from participants by using of Self-efficacy scale (SES), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Quality of life scale (QOL). The results revealed that there was a significant positive relationship among self-efficacy, life satisfaction, and quality of life in local tourists of Pakistan. Further, the results showed that self-efficacy and satisfaction with life are significantly correlated with factors of quality of life. Self-efficacy, satisfaction with life, and quality of life are found more in tourists who travel more frequently in a year. This study has implications for developing the tourist industry and encouraging local travel for Pakistani‘s as an intervention to improve the health and wellbeing of people
The Role of School Textbooks in Promoting Peace Education in Punjab.: Khadija Aftab and Fouzia Sadaf
Get PDFSchool textbooks play an important role in promoting and disseminating the prominent ideology of society. The government of Punjab has been claiming that it has added tolerance and peace promoting content to the textbooks. This research examines school textbooks\u27 role in promoting peace education in Punjab, Pakistan to determine the claim made by the government. There has been limited discussion in the literature on the positionality of textbooks in promoting peace in Pakistan. The methodological approach in this research is qualitative, based on discourse analysis to investigate sixth through eighth-grade textbooks. The research has explored various themes relevant to peace education. The findings of this study suggest that variations exist across the various levels of textbooks in terms of content promoting peace and the emphasis on the values of acceptance, sympathy, and tolerance. Based on the findings we recommend that both the quantity and quality of textbook content promoting the role of peace, tolerance, and harmony in shaping inclusive social structures and relations must be improved to promote peace ideology in the youth of Pakistan
World Peace and the Role of United Nations Security Council: Shahzad Akhtar, Muhammad Ajmal and Waqas Iqbal
Get PDFThe preamble of the United Nations Charter states the aim of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as, “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” and entrust the responsibility of dealing with the challenges facing international peace. However, the structural weaknesses of the Council at the time of its foundation along with the ones it acquired over time, denied the Council its due role. This study aims to summarize the weaknesses of the UNSC and identifies four areas of concern: (i) Setbacks of the Veto Power and the influence on World Peace, (ii) Lacklustre Performance of the Security Council in the Pacific Settlement of Inter-State Disputes, (iii) Violation of the UN Charter by the Security Council Members, and (iv) Legitimacy and Democratic Merit of the Security Council. The paper concludes with suggestions for a way forward, which includes an urgent call for restructuring the Council in terms of inclusiveness, fair international representation, and neutrality in its procedures and services
Alexithymia, Diabetes Adherence and Self-care Behaviors among Type 2 Diabetes Patients: Zahra Batool and Amna Khawar
Get PDFDiabetes is a non-curable, chronic, and prevalent disease that has become a major health concern worldwide. Pakistan ranks 3rd among diabetes-prevalent countries. People with diabetes are also known to commonly suffer from alexithymia, which is a personality construct with features that prevent the patient from identifying one\u27s feelings and distinguishing them from bodily sensations. The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship among alexithymia, diabetes adherence, and self-care behaviors among type 2 diabetes patients. A sample of 300 type 2 diabetes patients were approached through a purposive sampling technique. The study found that alexithymia has a positive correlation with poor diabetes adherence. Moreover, alexithymia also predicted poor self-care behaviors in patients. This study has implications for healthcare professionals, psychologists, and diabetes management societies in Pakistan. Diabetes patients need support for awareness programs, health interventions, and screening strategies to prevent problems related to alexithymi