617 research outputs found
The Role of Mutual Funds and Non- Banking Financial Companies in Corporate Governance in Pakistan
No full textThis paper advances the argument that institutional investors, particularly mutual funds can play a vital role in enhancing corporate governance in emerging economies. Accordingly, regulatory framework need to be structured in a manner that would encourage the growth of the mutual fund industry and enable it to play a proactive role in corporate governance. The paper reviews and evaluates the regulation of mutual funds in Pakistan in the light of the above propositions. The Role of Mutual Funds and Non-Banking Financial Companies in Corporate Governance in Pakistan.Corporate governance, mutual fund, Non-Banking Financial Companies, Pakistan
Counting the uncounted: the economic contributions of women in rural Sindh
No full textWomen’s contribution to agriculture across South Asia is often overlooked, yet the evidence suggests that they play a central role, particularly in livestock management. Here Sultana Ali and Abdur Rehman Cheema draw on their fieldwork to highlight the specific nature of women’s agricultural work in rural Sindh, and the benefits of making this more visible and properly remunerated
Exploring the many barriers to a girl's education in Sindh, Pakistan
No full textPakistan ranks 138 (out of 144) in education, and has a female literacy rate of just 43 per cent. As investment in education increases, there is a need to understand the ground realities that deter children's participation in the education system. Sultana Ali and Abdur Rehman Cheema explore some factors that are road blocks to improving female literacy
Beyond Tayyaba: tackling rural poverty to reduce child labour
No full textFollowing headlines about the abuse of a domestic worker in a judge’s house in December 2016, Abdur Rehman Cheema and Sultana Ali analyse the wider problem of child labour in Pakistan. Drawing on their research in rural Sindh, they write that poverty is the primary reason that parents keep their children away from school, and outline the community-driven approaches that are being used to tackle the underlying cause
Reforming local government in Pakistan
No full textOne year into the term of the new Pakistani government and promises to hold local government elections across the country have not fully materialised. Polling took place in Baluchistan in December 2013 but local elections scheduled to take place in Sindh and Punjab appear to have been deferred indefinitely. In this context, Ali Cheema, Adnan Khan and Roger Myerson analyse local democracy in Pakistan and recommend ways in which to strengthen the system
Stolen childhoods: the dilemma of child marriage in rural Sindh
No full textDespite legislation to combat the practice at both national and provincial levels, child marriage is still common in Pakistan, particularly in rural areas. Nadir Ali Shah and Abdur Rehman Cheema draw on fieldwork conducted in rural Sindh to highlight the ongoing problem, and write that if child marriage is to be eliminated in line with the Sustainable Development Goals social guidance and other forms of support will be needed alongside proper implementation of the law
Bureaucracy and Pro-poor Change
No full textThis paper takes a political economy perspective in analysing the nature and causes on the decline in bureaucratic conduct. Section 1 lays out the details of this structure. Based on a logical model which places the bureaucracy within the larger context of the objective function of the state, the nature of the political process, the degree of centralisation and fragmentation of the bureaucratic structure and processes for monitoring and accountability of the bureaucracy, this model provides the basis for subsequent analysis. Section 2 provides a historical overview with regard to changes in the bureaucratic and political structure and the impact it had on the above mentioned balance between bureaucratic conduct and political compulsions. Section 3 then analyses the consequences on service delivery that this systematic weakening of the bureaucratic structure has had. Section 4 then critically assesses some of the recent attempts at bureaucratic reform in the light of the framework developed in Section 1. The conclusion then summarises the paper and draws implications for pro-poor change of the structure and conduct of the bureaucratic structure in PakistanPoverty, Poor, Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy and Pro-poor Change
No full textBased on the premise that a functioning state is a necessary pre-requisite for pro-poor change, it is critical to investigate the role of the bureaucracy as a key catalyst in this process. Weber (1968) ascribes bureaucracies to be anchors of the modern nation state as their conduct is based on rational-legal norms. Bureaucracies, according to this ideal type, temper the populist urges of politicians who wish to execute policy unencumbered by rules and procedures. State success or failure in many cases, therefore, can be gauged by the degree to which this tensionbetween the rules based bureaucratic form of administration and populist politicsis resolved. Prognosis on pro-poor change in the light of the present and anticipated balance between bureaucratic procedures and political compulsions is thus an important area of inquiry. There is consensus that the disconnect between policy formulation and execution in Pakistan has widened considerably in the last three decades or so. And this is in spite of the fact of the generally acclaimed view that Pakistan inherited a well functioning and competent bureaucracy from the British Raj [Braibanti (1966)]. While part of the blame for this disconnect can be ascribed to incoherence in policy formulation on the part of the political leadershipboth civil and militarybut bureaucratic malfeasance, incompetence and corruption have been critical factors in the level of governance declining over time. This paper takes a political economy perspective in analysing the nature and causes on the decline in bureaucratic conduct. Section 1 lays out the details of this structure. Based on a logical model which places the bureaucracy within the larger context of the objective function of the state, the nature of the political process, the degree of centralisation and fragmentation of the bureaucratic structure and processes for monitoring and accountability of the bureaucracy, this model provides the basis for subsequent analysis. Section 2 provides a historical overview with regard to changes in the bureaucratic and political structure and the impact it had on the above mentioned balance between bureaucratic conduct and political compulsions. Section 3 then analyses the consequences on service delivery that this systematic weakening of the bureaucratic structure has had. Section 4 then critically assesses some of the recent attempts at bureaucratic reform in the light of the framework developed in Section 1. The conclusion then summarises the paper and draws implications for pro-poor change of the structure and conduct of the bureaucratic structure in Pakistan.bureaucracy, pro-poor change, consequences on service
Outdoor-indoor Space:Unified Modeling and Shortest Path Search
No full textGraph models are widely used for representing the topology of outdoor space (O-Space) and indoor space (I-Space). However, existing models neglect the intersection between O-Space and I-Space, only allowing for computations such as shortest path and nearest neighbor queries in either O-Space or I-Space, separately. In this paper, we present two different outdoor-indoor space (OI-Space) models allowing queries to operate on a mix of both spaces. The first model keeps the distinct nature of the two spaces intact by having explicit connections between outdoor and indoor spaces. The second model abstracts this distinction away, and provides a unified model of outdoor-indoor space. For each model, we present an algorithm that is able to span the two types of spaces to return the real shortest path between two arbitrary points. The experimental evaluations show that the proposed models and algorithms perform well enough to be usable in practice
Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTC) and the Environment: A Scoping Review
No full textBackground: Multiple Long Term conditions (MLTC) are a major health care challenge associated with high service utilisation and expenditure. Once established, the trajectory to an increased number and severity of conditions, hospital admission, increased social care need and mortality is multifactorial. The role of wider environmental determinants in the MLTC sequelae is unclear. Aim: the aim of this review was to summarise and collate existing evidence on environmental determinants on established MLTC. Methods: comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL and Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE), from inception to 4th June 2022 in addition to grey literature. Two authors independently screened and extracted papers. Disagreements were resolved with a third author. Results: searches yielded 9079 articles, 12 of which met the review’s inclusion criteria. Evidence of correlations between some environmental determinants and increased or decreased risks of MLTC were found, including the quality of internal housing/living environments, exposure to airborne environmental hazards and a beneficial association with socially cohesive, accessible and greener neighbourhood environments. Conclusions: The majority of the 12 included papers focused on the built and social environments. The review uncovered very limited evidence, indicating a need for further research to understand the role of environmental determinants in MLTC
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