Journals of Forman Christian College
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Book Review Title: National Awami Party Nature and Direction of Politics 1957-1975: An Account of the Left and Progressive Politics in Pakistan by Himayatullah Yaqubi
No full textThis is a book review of Dr. Himayatullah Yaqubi Book entitled, "National Awami Party Nature and Direction of Politics 1957-1975: An Account of the Left and Progressive Politics in Pakistan"
Durand Line; A Contending Security Dilemma Between Pakistan and Afghanistan
Full text linkThe Durand Line is a shared border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and is considered one of the major conflict zones in the 21st century. Post 9/11, developments in the region attracted the world’s attention. This article uses a realist model and empirical approach to examine literature review evidence about the main issues surrounding the border disputes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Three thematic findings from the review have been discussed: (i) The lack of consensus between Afghanistan and Pakistan, (ii) Inadequate border management and criminal activities on the border, and (iii) Vulnerabilities faced by the ethnic groups living across the border. The study concludes that the Durand Line threatens regional and international peace and security. It is recommended that both countries should take decisive steps toward sustainable peace by holding negotiations and working together to eliminate the border issues and resolve issues faced by ethnic groups across the border
Motivation and Academic Performance of University Students During the COVID19 Pandemic: Zoya Sajid and Saima Ghazal
Full text linkYouth are considered the backbone and future of every nation, but there is concern that the COVID-19 pandemic affected university students’ motivation negatively, resulting in low educational attainment. The present study examined the relationship between academic motivation and academic performance among university students during COVID-19. A cross-sectional research design was utilized and data was collected from college and university students (115 females and 37 males) who were sampled using the non-probability convenient sampling technique. Results of the study revealed that academic motivation is positively related to educational performance and that intrinsic motivation is the stronger predictor of academic achievement compared to extrinsic motivation. Significant gender differences were found indicating that females are more motivated and secure more grades than males. Findings from this study can advise better policies for students who may be suffering from health burdens and using online learning options. We recommend improved teacher training for online platforms and providing students with better resources for remote learnin
Exploring Product Diversification Opportunities in Pakistan for Export Growth
Full text linkDiversification brings economic growth and forms a diversified production structure in any developing country. The purpose of this study is two-fold: attempting to decompose product exports of two key sectors (textile and sports) and measure the significance of intensive, extensive, and new products towards export growth. The study finds the long-run association between GDP per capita and the three indices of export product diversification i.e., intensive and extensive margins and product diversification (Theil index). By selecting the top five exporting countries, the decomposition was achieved by using the (Amiti and Freund, 2008) methodology while for the accomplishment of the second objective, the paper used the ARDL Bound testing procedure. Hence, the results showed positive export growth from 2009 to 2020. The intensive margin contribution to the export growth was significant in the case of 26 textile subdivision products. However, in the main subsector of textile (65 division), the contribution from the new products is large and more significant compared to other sub-sectors. By applying the ARDL testing method, the results of the quantitative analysis confirmed the positive and significant long-run relationship among GDP per capita, product export diversification, and extensive, and intensive margins. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis suggests that Pakistan’s government should encourage the diversification in traditional as well as new product exports with investment and innovation. More attention to innovation in the textile and apparel sector is recommended as this sector has more potential. The sports industry, on the other hand, has potential and should be given a boost through timely investment and policy formulation.Keywords: Product diversificatio
The Plight of Child Labor in Pakistan: An Economic Perspective
Full text linkChild labor is a widespread problem in most less-developed countries, with Pakistan being no exception to it. The study tries to shed light on some push factors that contribute to the high prevalence of child labor in Pakistan by utilizing the Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and time series data from 1984 to 2020. We find that the increase in secondary school enrollments and per capita income of families can significantly reduce the extent of child labor. Similarly, inflation, population growth, and young dependency also aid in child labor. The provision of quality education in schools and vocational training programs for children, particularly in marginalized and impoverished communities may be key to reducing the prevalence of child labor. The government may introduce targeted social safety net programs and economic development initiatives to lift families out of poverty
Analyzing the Impact of Urbanization on Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Fresh Evidence from Pakistan
Full text linkOver several decades, unplanned urbanization is increasing CO2 emissions due to higher energy demand from industrial activities, transportation, and waste management. The present study assesses the link between urbanization and CO2 emissions in Pakistan from 1985 to 2020 by controlling FDI, access to electricity, and institution quality. The empirical results are estimated by using the ARDL approach while causality is extracted through the Granger Causality test. The empirical findings depict that urbanization leads to CO2 emissions. Furthermore, institutional quality declines CO2 emissions, while FDI and access to electricity significantly increase CO2 emissions. The Granger Causality results indicate a bidirectional causality between electricity access and CO2 emissions. At the same time, CO2 emissions and urbanization show unidirectional causality. The study suggests that Pakistan needs to promote an environment-friendly energy consumption pattern
Conflicting Choices: Lump Sum Transfer or Periodic Cash Transfer. Evidence from Sindh, Pakistan
Full text linkEvaluating the long-term impacts of social assistance programs is usually not possible as pure control groups dissolve into treated ones. This paper makes use of data where the treated and control groups remained mostly unmarred. We examine two types of Pakistani social assistance i.e., lump sum transfer (LST) versus unconditional cash transfer (UCT) and determine which is more effective in enhancing household income after a decade. The UCT has continued over time thus enabling us to see if there is any cumulative effect of this in comparison to the one-time LST received to the treatment group. The setup of initial randomization of beneficiaries to treatment and control status has not received any form of researcher intervention and thus continues to induce random variation. For evaluation, a cross-sectional survey is conducted in a district of the Sindh province of Pakistan. Propensity Score Matching is employed across recipient and control households to evaluate the treatment effects. The matching is done for households receiving LST and UCT and also between LST and non-recipients of any assistance. The empirical analysis suggests that the LST permanently increases the total household income. The difference in the household incomes of LST and UCT recipients, in the long run, is large and significant. The same is true for LST recipients and non-recipients of any form of assistance. Sensitivity analysis indicates no hidden bias. Considering limited fiscal space availability, understanding which type of social assistance can be more effective for social mobility, is an important public policy decision