ISSN: 0030-9729
Publisher: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
Country: Pakistan
Language: English
Subject Areas: Social Sciences, Pakistan Studies
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Abstract: This paper attempts to explore a seasonal pattern, the Ramadhan effect, in the Pakistani equity market. Ramadhan, the holy month of fasting, is expected to affect the behaviour of stock market in Pakistan where the environment in Ramadhan is different from other months as people devote more time to perform religious rituals and the general economic activity slows down. The effects of Ramadhan on mean return and stock returns volatility are examined by including a dummy variable in regressions and GARCH models respectively. The analysis indicates a significant decline in stock returns volatility in this month although the mean return indicates no significant change.
Authors: Fazal Hussain
Abstract: Based on the responses of 1260 matched couples in the 1990-91 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, this study examines how congruent wives’ and husbands’ attitudes towards fertility and family planning are, and to what extent the similarity or difference in attitudes affects their reproductive control behaviour. The results show that about 60 percent of the couples have given similar responses (agreeing either positively or negatively) to several fertility-related questions, whereas the remaining 40 percent differ in their attitudes. Multivariate analyses indicate that a couple’s joint approval of family planning, husband’s desire for no more children, and spousal discussion about family planning stand out as the strongest predictors of contraceptive use. These findings clearly suggest that the role of couple agreement is important in promoting the use of family planning, and that men should be made as equal targets of such programmes in Pakistan.
Authors: Naushin Mahmood
Abstract: This paper contrasts the operation of seed cotton and wheat marketing systems in Sindh. Analysis of marketing margins indicates that the private sector cotton marketing chain appears to be working efficiently, given the many adverse aspects of its socioeconomic environment. There is evidence that higher domestic prices resulting from alignment with world markets have been transmitted through the marketing chain to producers, and that production has increased. In contrast to cotton, the government continues to be heavily involved in wheat procurement and storage, with private traders usually acting as intermediaries between the Food Department and the grower. Despite expensive involvement of the same private traders as in cotton, the wheat market is characterised by bureaucratic failure and rent-seeking behaviour, leading to stagnation of incentives and production. For cotton, the primary recommendations are to sustain liberalisation of the market and to support the developing beneficial model of private competition through improvements in communications and transport infrastructure. The practical means to improve the grading of cotton lint and seed cotton should also be developed and promoted to provide incentives for higher quality output. For wheat, the main recommendations are to liberalise farmgate prices, reduce the state’s role in procurement, and privatise government godowns. Research is needed on how this might best be achieved, with attention to the conditions necessary for private financing of storage activities, and to ways of minimising price and supply fluctuations. The impact of higher flour prices on poor consumers also needs to be addressed
Authors: Hari Ram Lohano, Laurence E D Smith
Abstract: This paper fills an information gap regarding factors affecting the supply and demand of pulses in Pakistan. The short- and long-term supply elasticities were estimated using the Nerlovian partial adjustment process, while demand elasticities were estimated by applying the Deaton and Muellbauer Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS). Generally lack of technological innovation in pulses, except in mungbean, has reduced their production and they are pushed to low intensive areas which are marginal for cereal and cash crop production. Pulses did not benefit from the investment in irrigation infrastructure. Increase in wage rates has further affected the mungbean and lentil production. On the demand side, contrary to normal belief, pulses have high own-price demand and income elasticities. Thus decline in pulses consumption is not caused by their being regarded as inferior goods, rather it can be attributed to disproportionate increase in pulses price, as laxity in pulses research left their production behind demand. The high-yielding, short-duration, and pest-resistant pulses varieties with synchronised maturity can revive their production trend as well as improve the dietary pattern, especially of the poor.
Authors: Mubarik Ali Ghafoor
Abstract: The Government of Pakistan has opted for institutional reforms for canal irrigation system of the country with a view to undertaking efficient operation and maintenance of the system and improving cost recovery. In the new reforms, the Farmers’ Organisations will manage distributaries and minors and pay the cost of upstream water in full. The complex hierarchy of the system poses serious challenges for working out the cost of water delivery for various channels. The paper presents a methodological framework for assessing the recoverable O&M costs from the farmers benefiting from an irrigation network. Hakra 4-R Distributary in the Eastern Sadiqia Canal serves as an illustration. The methodology shows how the beneficiary farmers can share the costs of the system. Simple methods are provided for working out water rates on the basis of volume of water received, commanded area, and duration of the irrigation turn. Out of the three methods, the area-based and time-based water rates have comparative advantage over the volumetric water rates owing to the resource endowments of the farmers.
Authors: Mehmood Ul Hasan
Abstract: In Pakistan, most of the media attention and research effort directed at public finance goes into highlighting and analysing budgetary policies of the federal government. This virtually exclusive focus on the highest tier of government obscures the fact that provision of social services like health and education that directly touch the life of millions of ordinary mortals is primarily the responsibility of the provincial governments. The haze, hence generated, provides a perfect backdrop for the book under review which is devoted entirely to the study of provincial government finance with special reference to its impact on the maintenance and expansion of social services
Authors: Najam us Saqib
Abstract: South Asia, where almost half of the world poor live, has one of the worst records of human rights. It is happening even in India, which has the credit of being the most democratic of all the states in South Asia. In the background of these violations of human rights are the strong cultural values which have resulted in caste and class-like divisions in society. The elite in the region, with access to power and (scarce) resources, are so integrated within the system that they can easily prevent any benefits and resources from reaching the poor.
Authors: Afia Malik
Abstract: Trade is a field of economics that is useful for investigating the issue of economic competitiveness. A nation’s advantages in competing against other nations are reflected in its performance in international economic transactions. Earlier theories on trade (Ricardian and Heckscher-Ohlin) analysed a nation’s inter-sectoral comparative advantage. Due to the intuitive appeal of these theories, governments have implemented various policies designed to improve comparative advantage in factor costs by reducing interest rates and resorting to devaluation, special depreciation allowances, export financing, etc. There is now a growing awareness that these theories are unrealistic as to many industries, although they can be useful in explaining broad tendencies apparent in the patterns of trade.
Authors: Zafar Mahmood
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Authors: Afia Malik