Int’l conference concludes AT GCU: ‘Economic Outlook is optimistic’

A two-day International conference on “Institutions, Growth and Development,” organized by Economics Department, GCU concluded with a note that the country’s economic outlook is optimistic. Former Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz chaired the last session of the conference on “Globalization Trade and Development.”

Speaking on the occasion, Bond University, Australia Economics Department Chairman Prof Dr Ahmad Khalid said that globalization did not mean differential treatment but equal treatment for all. He reiterated the importance of focusing on the standard of living of people rather than mere economic growth.

“Pakistan had a good growth momentum up till 2005 which has been declining over the years due to the low saving-investment ratio as a percentage of GDP. Globally countries have reached saving-investment ratios of 20-25% whereas Pakistan’s ratio has been stunted at 15%,” Prof Khalid said. With reference to governance issues, Prof Khalid said that the low salaries of public sector employees were a disincentive for them which affected their performance as well. He also highlighted the need for State Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan Institute of Development Economics to provide access to their data to encourage research amongst young and emerging researchers.

Dr Hamza Malik shed light on the monetary challenges faced by Pakistan. From 1947-2007, Pakistan had outstanding stock of government borrowing of Rs.452 billion whereas currently this figure stands at Rs.1900 billion. The main issue for Pakistan is to finance this debt. Consequently, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have been declining rapidly over time. Over the last few months, Pakistan has been losing dollars at the rate of $1 billion every month which is an alarming rate. Consequently, Pakistan has had to resort to borrowing from the IMF. He suggested that in order to overcome this Pakistan should improve economic governance which would serve to attract foreign and domestic investment and provide a solution to the foreign exchange problems of Pakistan. Talking on the low tax-to-GDP ratio of Pakistan, Dr Malik said that the original sin in case of the Pakistani economy was tax evasion. We are stuck in a vicious cycle of tax evasion which leads to inadequate provision of services on the part of the government which further spurs tax evasion.

Sartaj Aziz said “our growth rates are highly dependent on foreign investment which is a negative aspect of our growth.” He said that they needed to slowly step up their growth rate by reviving the confidence of the business community and giving special attention to our institutions. “Institutions like banking, telecommunication, private transport, and print and electronic media can be categorized as emblems of success in Pakistan. However, the problem lies in institutions like land allocation, revenue collection, local service delivery, dispute resolution and R&D,” the former finance minister said. He concluded his remarks by saying that governance can be improved through merit based system of recruitment and promotion; massive deregulation in government sector (given the high levels of corruption that plague the government sector); and finally through “Jihad against corruption.”

Different other sessions were also held on the last day including on “Macroeconomic, Stability and Institutions” and “Social Sector Development”, in which speakers said that the gap between policy recommendations and decision-making needed to be bridged. Several issues of practical relevance to Pakistan were also discussed in these sessions including the electricity crisis, governance issues and an over-arching focus on economic growth rather than the quality of life of citizens. The importance of human resource development through investments in sectors like public health, education and infrastructure was also underscored since the major beneficiaries of these public sector investments will be the middle and lower-middle class

Asif Saeed presented the vote of thanks and highlighted main activities of the two conference and expressed the hope this initiative by the Department of Economics will become a regular feature in the coming years.

(06-05-2013)

GCU organizes International conference on” Institutions, Growth and Development”

Long-term economic goals should not be sacrificed for short-term political goals. Institutional reforms should not be copied rather than they should be tailored with respect to Pakistan, said speakers while addressing in a two day International conference on” Institutions, Growth and Development,” that began in GC University Lahore under the auspices of the University’s Economics Department with collaborations from USAID, Dairy and Rural Development Foundation and Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, GCU Vice Chancellor Professor (Meritorious) Dr Muhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rehman said that this conference was being held at a critical juncture in the history of Pakistan “With elections just around the corner, it is an appropriate time to evaluate our country’s economic and institutional performance which will aid policy makers to trace a future path for our country,” he said. Prof Rahman believed that this conference would help to promote a dialogue on Pakistan’s future development priorities in the light of economic performance of the past decade.

In introductory remarks, GCU Economics Department Chairman Asif Saeed highlighted that though Pakistan had undergone economic reforms in various phases of its history since the 1980s, the outcomes of these reforms had not been captured by academic research. He suggested that this could be done through research linkages and collaborations between various universities and conferences like these provided an opportunity for this purpose.

Planning and Development, Punjab former Chairman Tariq Sultan, the keynote speaker of the first session said that investment in education needed direction. Talking about the stratification of education in Pakistan which is a hindrance to the social vertical mobility of lower middle and middle class, he indicated the need to improve quality with scientific approach to bring change management.

Federal Secretary Industries Dr Shujat Ali said that transparency, predictability and accountability should exist to strengthen political institutions. He said that there was a need for capacity-building through collaboration of public-private enterprises and NGOs. “Focus should be on monitoring of public projects rather than evaluating,” he said.

BNU Institute of Public Policy Director Dr Aisha Pasha discussed the need for fiscal discipline given the huge bulge in government debts in recent years. She highlighted the importance of broad-based and equitable policy-making. She said that there was a need for bottom-up policy-making whereby provinces played a role in service generation. Dr Tasneem also underlined the need for adopting participatory approach for growth and development.

Jeffery N. Bakken, the Acting Consul General and Director USAID Lahore, highlighted the need for practical research in the field of economic stability, transparency and rule of law in Pakistan with enforceable policy recommendations. He said that all applied research at the higher education needed to be demand driven.

Addressing the panel discussion on “Economic Governance and Role of Institutions”, Nawid Ahsan former Secretary Finance Government of Pakistan indicated that economic growth in Pakistan was lethargic and service delivery to the poor was non-existent.

The second session of the conference was focused on Agriculture, Dairy and Rural Development in Pakistan and was chaired by Dr. Pervaiz Azeem, Dean of Arts and Social Sciences, GCU Faisalabad. The first guest speaker was Dr. Salman Shah, Chairman Dairy and Rural Development Foundation (DRDF) highlighted the importance of the dairy sector in economic growth and development of Pakistan by indicating that dairy comprises half of the agricultural sector of Pakistan. He mentioned that Pakistan was richly endowed in the dairy sector yet it lagged behind the developed countries with regards to dairy productivity. He revealed that average milk productivity in Pakistan was 1500 litres/year/animal whereas it is 9000 litres/year/ animal in the rest of the world. He mentioned that the objective of DRDF was to take it to 5000 litres /year/ animal at a minimum. Assad ullah Khan, Project Management Specialist, USAID also spoke on the occasion. Uzair Ahson, Economics Department GCU, spoke about the agricultural outputs and nutritional outcomes and highlighted the need to do more about this under explored area of research in the coming years.

(03-05-2013)

INTERNATIONAL MOOT ON ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AT GCU

GC University Lahore Economics Department is holding a two-day “International Conference on Institutions, Growth and Development in Pakistan” from Thursday  under the auspices of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Dairy and Rural Development Foundation (DRDF).

GCU Economics Department Chairperson Asif Saeed said that the objective of the conference was to promote a dialogue on Pakistan’s future development priorities in the light of economic performance of the past decade.

State Bank of Pakistan Director Monetary Policy Dr Hamza Malik, Planning Commission of Pakistan Deputy Chairman Dr Nadeem ul Haq, former finance minister Sartaj Aziz, USAID Director and Acting Consul General Lahore Jeffrey N. Bakken, former secretary finance Nawid Ahson, Bond University Australia Economics Department Head Prof Dr Ahmad Khalid, Dr Abid Burki, Dr Salman Shah, Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha and a large number other eminent economists from Pakistan and aboard will address the conference.

(02-05-2013)

Universities need to nurture entrepreneurs

Universities in Pakistan should stop only producing job hunters and develop an ecosystem to nurture entrepreneurs, said eminent entrepreneurs and academicians while addressing the seminar on Role of Educational Institutions in Development Entrepreneurship Ecosystem at the GC University Lahore. Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rahman chaired the seminar organized by the university’s Economics Department in a candid collaboration with the Entrepreneurial Development and Advisory Services (EDAS).

Addressing the seminar, Almas Hyder, an eminent entrepreneur and EDAS founder member, said Pakistan produced entrepreneurs either by accident or inheritance and even social and cultural values were not supportive for development of entrepreneurship ecosystem.

He criticized that there were no incubation centers for production of educated entrepreneurs, social and professional platform were missing, serious lack of mentoring and coaching and even universities were stuck in theoretical teaching and giving minor attention to training.

He gave example of Nanyang University, Singapore, where all students had to complete a compulsory assignment of running an entrepreneurship.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Prof Rahman said that scientific discoveries and technological developments could not lead to economic progress without entrepreneurship. He said that the drive to boost entrepreneurial activity required synchronized efforts from various quarters, and stand-alone efforts from academia or financial institutions would not be able to achieve much.

The Vice Chancellor said that entrepreneurs were most successful when they had access to human, financial, infrastructural and professional resources they needed, and operated in an environment in which government polices safeguard their interests.

Prof Rahman said that he had himself witnessed high level entrepreneurial actives in foreign universities, which were not only creating knowledge but also earning from it. He believed that several Pakistani universities were also moving in the right direction and focusing on development and as well as commercialization of technology.

He said that GCU had established the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Commercialization with the objective of promoting research and forge partnerships between GCU and industries.

Addressing the seminar, Global Think Tank Network (GTTN), Islamabad President Amer Hashmi said that all universities in Pakistan should set a goal of producing 15 percent of their graduates in the field entrepreneurship annually.

UCP Center for Entrepreneurship Director Dr Shaheryar Shahid said universities should focus more on training of students than teaching and curriculum should also be revised for this purpose. Eminent entrepreneur Ijaz Nasir shared seven secrets of success by 100 business leaders in Pakistan. Kahsif-ul-Haq, Farruk Mehboob Khan, Nabeel Hashmi, Asim Qadri, Imtiaz Khalid and LUMS former Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Syed Zahoor Hassan also addressed the seminar.

(12-03-2012)