bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Journalist between the Profession and the Newspaper's Interests: Values and Routines in the Production of Folha De S. Paulo’s Editorials
Authors: Mont'Alverne Camila , Athanásio Ester , Marques Francisco Paulo Jamil
Published: August 2018

Notwithstanding journalistic editorials may evidence conflicts and negotiations involving public and private interests, their production process is little investigated in Brazil. The article examines the values and routines typical to the work of Folha de S. Paulo’s editorialists to find out how they construct newspaper’s positions. By applying Content Analysis to three in-depth interviews, we propose four thematic axes regarding the features of journalistic editorials: Political and marketing roles; their target audience; production routines; and editorial values of the newspaper. The results indicate that editorialists exercise limited autonomy, striving to fit the positions historically defended by the publication. Such a condition is seen as natural by the interviewees, with no record of tensions between their individual opinions and newspaper’s positions. Embora o editorial possa tornar evidentes conflitos e negociações envolvendo interesses públicos e privados na atividade jornalística, seu processo de produção é pouco investigado no Brasil. O objetivo do artigo é examinar, a partir do estudo de valores e rotinas inerentes à atuação dos editorialistas, os modos pelos quais os posicionamentos da Folha de S. Paulo (FSP) são construídos. A Análise de Conteúdo de três entrevistas em profundidade realizadas com profissionais da FSP permitiu sistematizar quatro eixos temáticos acerca dos editoriais: função política; público-alvo; rotinas produtivas; e valores da empresa. Os resultados indicam que os editorialistas exercem autonomia limitada, esforçando-se para se enquadrar no histórico de posições da empresa. Tal condição é vista com naturalidade pelos entrevistados, sem registro de tensões entre opiniões individuais e posicionamentos institucionais. Aunque el editorial sea capaz de evidenciar conflictos y negociaciones entre el interés público y privado en la práctica periodística, su proceso productivo es poco examinado en Brasil. El objetivo del artículo es analizar, a través del estudio de valores y rutinas inherentes a la actuación de los editorialistas, como los posicionamientos de Folha de S. Paulo son diseñados. El Análisis de Contenido de tres entrevistas en profundidad realizadas con profesionales de FSP ha sido organizada en cuatro ejes temáticos acerca de los editoriales: función política; público objetivo; rutinas de producción; y valores de la empresa. Los resultados indican que los editorialistas tienen una autonomía limitada y que se adaptan al historial de posicionamientos de la compañía. Esta adecuación es percibida con naturalidad, sin registro de tensiones entre opiniones individuales y posicionamientos institucionales.
A comparative study of Schiff base chelating resins: synthesis, uptake of heavy metal ions, and thermal studies
Authors: Al-Yusufy Fatma A. , Al-Qadasy Mohammed Q. , Jamil Yasmin M. S. , Al-Maydama Hussein M. , Akeel Moathe M.
Published: August 2018

Two new chelating resins (Rciaa91 and Rciaa73) with different compositional chelating groups and degree of cross-linking were prepared by free radical copolymerization of Schiff bases obtained from condensation reaction of cinnamaldehyde (ci) with anthranilic acid (aa) and 1,4-phenylenediamine (pn) monomers. The synthesized materials were characterized using CHN analyses, FTIR, 1H-NMR, and thermal analyses (TGA, DTA). Batch technique was applied, and the contact time, pH and initial concentration of the metal ions were investigated as factors affecting the uptake behavior. The results obtained indicated that the chelating resin with larger compositional ratio of chelating moieties and lower degree of cross-linking showed lower optimum reaction time and higher uptake affinity towards the metal ions Cu(II), Cd(II), Co(II), Zn(II), Hg(II), and Pb(II), under the same conditions. Both the chelating resins showed uptake behavior of the metal ions in the following order Hg2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+>Pb2+>Co2+ > Cd2+ each metal at its optimum pH and at the same reaction time and ion concentration. The thermal degradation behavior and stability of the resins were investigated by using non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG/DTA), at 10 °C min-1 heating rate and under nitrogen. The Coats-Redfern method was used to evaluate the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters (ΔG*, ΔH* and ΔS*) for the prominent degradation steps in the TGA curves at 450-660 °C range.
Removal of pesticide residues after conventional drinking water treatment: byproducts and acetylcholinesterase inhibition
Authors: Costa Rafael Oliveira , Barcellos Polyana Soares , Canela Maria Cristina Cristina
Published: August 2018

Water is of extreme importance to living creatures. However, due to human’s action, that resource has been contaminated by different compounds, among them, the pesticides. Whenever in water, pesticides can cause some damage to aquatic environments or to those who consume it. In this way, it becomes a concern if the water treatment systems can remove these pollutants from water. In this perspective, the objective of this work is to investigate whether conventional water treatment has the ability to remove the pesticides atrazine, ametryn, malathion and chlorpyrifos. According to the results, it was observed that the conventional treatment after filtration was not capable of removing those pesticides with efficiency, being the organophosphorus (malathion and chlorpyrifos) removed in a higher percentage than the triazines (atrazine and ametryn). Postchlorination reduced the pesticides levels, however were generated the byproducts malaoxon and ametryn sulphoxide, which caused a greater acetilcolinesterase inhibition. Thus, advanced steps are required to the conventional treatment to remove these persistent contaminants.
Exploration of Conflict Management Styles Used by Medical-Surgical Nurses
Authors: Leveillee Michelle
Published: August 2018

Conflict has been pervasive to societies throughout time, has caused power struggles, problems, and competition amongst and between people and groups. Conflict is especially problematic in healthcare. Communication issues may trigger conflict troubles between nurses and physicians. The literature review supported that there is an increased need for collaboration between physicians and nurses, which has been shown to have multiple benefits in regard to patient care, but is also very underutilized in the healthcare setting. The purpose of this study was to explore the conflict management styles of medical-surgical nurses. The Thomas-Kilmann Model of Conflict Management was used to guide this research project. This descriptive survey was disseminated to a medical surgical unit at a local, non-profit hospital, and Level 1 trauma center. Twenty-three nurses completed the survey, a 48.9% response rate. The styles of conflict management that were most utilized by nurses were compromising and accommodation, followed by avoidance. Competition was not utilized at all, and one participant used collaboration and compromising. Collaboration may be the ideal conflict management style, where optimal patient outcomes are the utmost priority and an interdisciplinary approach to teamwork is used. The collaborative style upholds that open, effective communication between the individuals, or parties, leads to everyone expressing their viewpoints, but that the individuals, or parties, come to an agreement on a solution that ultimately benefits the patient. Advanced practice registered nurses play a valuable role in the future of healthcare, research, and micro and macro level policy changes, especially in regard to this subject.
KAMU GÖZETİMİ DENETİMLERİ VE YAPTIRIMLARI: TÜRKİYE–ABD KARŞILAŞTIRMASI
Authors: KESİMLİ İffet , ÇALIYURT Kıymet
Published: August 2018

Sarbanes-Oxley Yasası’nın (SOX) 105. maddesi, Halka Açık Şirketler Muhasebe Gözetim
Kuruluna (PublicCompany Accounting Oversight Board PCAOB), Kurul’a kayıtlanan
SMMM firmalarının ve bu firmalarla ilişkisi olan kişilerin incelenmesi ve gerektiğinde
yaptırım uygulanması için geniş yetkiler vermiştir. Denetlenen denetim firması Amerikan
menşeli olsun ya da olmasın, denetimin Amerika Birleşik Devletleri (ABD) sınırları
içerisinde yapılmasına bakılmaksızın, Kurul tarafından kalite kontrol incelemeleri
yapmaktadır. Kalite kontrol amaçlı olarak yapılan incelemeler, Kurul’un internet sitesinde
ilân edilmektedir. İlan süreci belirli kurallar çerçevesinde ve aşamalar şeklinde
yapılmaktadır. Halka Açık Şirketler Muhasebe Gözetim Kurulunun yanı sıra, ABD'de
Sermaye Piyasası Kurulunun da (Securitiesand Exchange Commission - SEC) belirli bazı
durumlarda uygulayıcıları cezalandırma veya Kurul’da (SEC) listelenen şirketleri
denetlemekten alıkoyma gücü vardır.
Türkiye'de faaliyet gösteren denetim firmaları açısından yapılan incelemenin sonuçları,
ABD denetim kalite gözetim ve/veya kontrol uygulamaları çerçevesinde
değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmada son olarak Türkiye’de Kamu Gözetimi, Muhasebe ve
Denetim Standartları Kurumu (KGK) tarafından hâlihazırda denetimin kalitesine yönelik
olarak yapılmakta olan çalışmalara yer verilmiştir. ABD ve Türkiye’de denetimin kalite
kontrolüne yönelik çalışmalar, araştırma sonuçları ile ilişkilendirilerek Türkiye için öneriler
getirilmiştir.
Foreign Capital Inflow, Technology Transfer, and National Income
Authors: Sarbajit Chaudhuri
Published: August 2018

According to Jones and Marjit (1992), in a two-sector, full-employment model it is not possible to show that growth in the foreign capital employed in the export sector of a small open economy will lead to a fall in the welfare in the presence of a protected import-competing sector. In this short paper, we have shown that one may get the immiserising result even in this framework if the inflow of foreign capital into the export sector is accompanied by technology transfer, which leads to a fall in the labour-output ratio in this sector.
Crowding-out Hypothesis in a Vector Error Correction Framework: A Case Study of Pakistan
Authors: Kalim Hyder
Published: August 2018

Under the umbrella of the IMF stabilisation programmes, Pakistan has pursued a policy of fiscal consolidation since 1988. A look at the budget deficit from 1988 onwards reveals that the policy has only been marginally successful. Even this fragile accomplishment of the Fund-based programme has been achieved at a much greater cost: the reduction in budget deficit has only been materialised because of the curtailment of development expenditure component of total fiscal outlays [Social Policy and Development Centre (2001)]. Economic theory suggests that development expenditure component of fiscal outlays, which also equals net investment by the public sector,1 has a significant relationship with both the rate of private investment and economic growth. If public investment increases, fewer funds will be available for private investment. Competition will thereby drive the interest rates up leading to lower level of private investment. Neo-classicals believe that this process will only result in a redistribution of gross national between the public and the private sector and the rate of economic growth will remain intact. On the other hand, Keynesians argue that the multiplier effect of higher public spending will be larger as compared to the induced negative effect of reduced private investment on the rate of economic activity and, therefore, gross national product will increase.
Globalisation and Its Implications for Agriculture, Food Security, and Poverty in Pakistan
Authors: Usman Mustafa  , Waqar Malik
Published: August 2018

The world trade liberalisation has been the major concern to almost all the international communities since very long due to the extensive trade restrictions imposed by the developed and industrial countries. These restrictions caused to create a very tough protectionist economic environment for all the countries [SESRTCIC (1995) and Chaudhary (2001)]. Pakistan is one of the founder members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 1948 and a signatory of Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Agreement (MTA) with Word Trade Organisation (WTO). The Agreement made significant progress in three major areas i.e. market liberalisation which could add approximately one percent of world real GDP (US$212-274 billion) and 10 percent to world trade upon full implementation of the Agreement, strengthening of rule and institutional structure, particularly the creation of WTO, which could decide on dispute and impairment of trade rules and principles, and integration of new areas into the multilateral trading system such as general agreements on trade in services (GATS) and trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPs), trade-related investment measures (TRIMs) and the traditionally sensitive and contentious sectors (agriculture, and textile and clothing) [Abidin (1994); GATT (1994) and IMF (1994)]. The classical economists explained the welfare benefits of globalisation (by the specialisation and widening of markets through trade). Trade can bring settlement by allowing countries to take benefit of their comparative advantage, harvest the profit of scale economies and ensure competition, greater variety and potentially, more stable markets and prices. The free movement of capital directs resources towards their more productive use.
Contribution of Onion Seed Production to Poverty Reduction: A Case Study of Malakand Division, Pakistan
Authors: Ikram Saeed
Published: August 2018

According to the latest estimates, roughly one-third of the total population of the developing countries live in poverty, majority of which are rural inhabitants (as reported 35 percent of the Pakistani rural mass). In Pakistan, the income distribution has worsened in the rural areas while it has marginally improved in urban areas during the period 1979 through 1996-97 [Pakistan (2001)]. The rural poverty is continuously feeding unemployment through migration of unskilled people to the urban areas. Poverty reduction is a priority area for Pakistan. The government is taking measures for addressing problems of the poor who are the most vulnerable amongst the different socioeconomic groups. Poverty alleviation is the main focus of the government in addition to develop physical infrastructure in rural areas and remove income disparities between income groups and regions.
Corruption Perception Indices: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Naved Ahmad
Published: August 2018

The empirical literature on corruption has used data on corruption from three different sources: (i) investigative reports, (ii) newspapers, and (iii) surveys or questionnaire-based data. Some studies on corruption are based on case studies and newspaper reports. Studies by Wedeman (1997); Wade (1982) and Alam (1996) fall in this category. While these studies have presented an in-depth analysis of corruption, they do not examine a large sample of countries. Moreover, the investigative reports require detective work and sometimes connections with people in high echelons in order to expose corruption. Unlike investigative reports, access to survey data on corruption enables researchers to study corruption for a large sample of countries, but at the same time, raises questions about their subjectivity.1 However, the subjectivity of these indices is often justified on the ground that corruption is illegal in nature, and hard to measure directly.
Why Economic Growth Trends Differ So Much across Developing Countries in the Era of Globalisation (The Iqbal Memorial Lecture)
Authors: Peter Nunnenkamp
Published: August 2018

The claim of globalisation critics that the income gap with industrial countries is bound to widen for essentially all developing countries as a consequence of economic globalisation is in conflict with empirical evidence. Economic performance differs tremendously across developing countries. We discuss several factors such as capital accumulation, openness to trade, and foreign indebtedness which may explain the varying experience with globalisation in regard to per capita income growth and income distribution. Economic restructuring is shown to represent an important—though frequently neglected—link between globalisation and country-specific performance. We conclude that national policy-makers continue to have effective leverage to promote economic catching-up and poverty alleviation in the countries they govern.
Importance of a Population Policy in Pakistan (The Mahbub ul Haq Memorial Lecture)
Authors: Fakhari A. Sidddiqui
Published: August 2018

The primary purpose of this lecture is to make a case for an integrated and effective population policy in Pakistan. An effective population policy is critical in its own right. It is also essential for maximising the positive outcome of all of Pakistan’s development efforts. Despite some very modest progress, the overall population growth rate is still so high that it warrants serious concern. Among the top ten contributors to world population growth during 1995-2000, Pakistan stood third in absolute number, and was Number One in rate of growth. The average total fertility rate per woman of 5.2 in Pakistan, as compared to 2.4 in Indonesia, 2.9 in Iran, and 3.1 in India, is indeed problematic and requires an appropriate policy response. A broader view of population growth and economic development is suggested instead of a narrow family planning focus. Thus family planning programmes (supply-side) would be effective only when the population at large has the desire or motivation for smaller families (demand-side). It is shown that the demand-side of the equation is influenced by a host of social, cultural, religious, educational, and other factors. For purposes of this paper, all these are taken together and termed the knowledge factor. It is suggested that a successful population policy must have a clear focus on increasing the knowledge factor in the country through education and advocacy.
Employment Multipliers from Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction (The Ghulam Mohammad Memorial Lecture)
Authors: John W. Mellor
Published: August 2018

Poverty is still a major problem in Pakistan. Worse, the excellent progress made in poverty reduction in the 1970s and 1980s has been reversed in the 1990s. That is the bad news. The good news is that Pakistan is unusually well placed to return to rapid reduction in poverty. We have long known that agricultural growth is closely related to poverty reduction. Recent studies by Peter Timmer and by Martin Ravallion and their colleagues provide massive statistical evidence of this relationship. Rural growth and agricultural growth have a major effect on poverty reduction; urban growth and manufacturing growth do not. At first glance that is strange because farmers are not the poorest rural people, and the direct benefits from agricultural growth are distributed roughly proportionately to size of landholding. The poor in rural areas are heavily concentrated in the rural non-farm sector. They produce non-tradable goods and services. That is, local demand is essential to their growth. It is rising agricultural incomes that provide that growth in local demand. Thus, agriculture’s massive impact on poverty is indirect, working through expenditures on the rural non-farm sector. The bulk of those expenditures are for consumption goods.
Production of Cognitive and Life Skills in Public, Private, and NGO Schools in Pakistan
Authors: G. M. Arif  , Najam Us Saqib
Published: August 2018

The share of private and NGO schools in primary education has substantially increased over time, though the public sector is still a major player in this area. The present study analyses the factors determining the quality of education offered by the three types of schools and draws policy recommendations for improving primary education in Pakistan. The study compares learning achievement of Class 4 students enrolled in 50 public, private, and NGO schools located across six districts of Pakistan and in Azad Kashmir in terms of their scores in Mathematics, Urdu, and General Knowledge tests. The analysis shows that, practically, there is no gap between public and NGO schools in terms of the test scores of their students. However, a significant test score gap was found between the students enrolled in public and private schools. This gap was largely explained by family background and school-related variables, including teachers’ qualification and student/teacher ratio. However, the performance of private schools was not uniform across districts. In some districts public schools performed even better than private and NGO schools. The findings of this study highlight the need for improving the quality of education in public schools by recruiting more qualified teachers and improving overall supervision. Teacher training is the area where the public and private sectors can benefit by pooling their resources and expertise.
Shorter Notices
Authors: Ilhan Niaz
Published: August 2018

Download the PDF file
Malavika Karlekar (ed.). Paradigms of Learning: The Total Literacy Campaign in India. New Delhi: Sage Publications. 2004. 356 pages. Paperback. Indian Rupees 375.00.
Authors: Samina Nazli
Published: August 2018

Raising the standards of literacy in the developing world has been a major goal of the less developed countries since most of them became independent in the process of decolonisation that followed World War II. The Human Development Report 2004, brought out by the United Nations Development Programme lists some major improvements in increasing literacy levels of a number of countries between the year 1990 and 2002. For example, low human development countries like Togo increased their adult literacy rates from 44.2 percent in 1990 to 59.6 percent in 2002. Congo saw an increase in its literacy rate for the same period from 67.1 percent to 82.8 percent. The rates for Uganda, Kenya, Yemen, and Nigeria are 56.1 percent and 68.9 percent, 70.8 percent and 84.3 percent, 32.7 percent and 49.0 percent, and 48.7 percent and 68.8 percent respectively. If one examines the breakdown by region, the least developed countries as a group saw an increase in their adult literacy rates from 43.0 percent to 52.5 percent, the Arab states from 50.8 percent to 63.3 percent, South Asia from 47.0 percent to 57.6 percent, Sub-Saharan Africa from 50.8 percent to 63.2 percent and East Asia and the Pacific from 79.8 percent to 90.3 percent. If we look at the increase in the levels of literacy from the perspective of medium human development and low human development, the figures are 71.8 percent and 80.4 percent, and 42.5 percent and 54.3 percent, respectively.
Motivation and Involvement of Men in Family Planning in
Pakistan
Authors: Kiani M Framurz Khan
Published: August 2018

The study of men in involvement and use of family planning
methods is important because of their dominant role in family
decision-making in the socio-structural context of Pakistan. The
objective of present study is to examine the changes in knowledge and
attitude of men about family planning, and also to estimate the extent
to which it affects their contraceptive use behaviour. The findings show
that men’s knowledge and contraceptive use has increased three times
during the period from 1968-69 to 1990. The important factors that
determine men’s contraceptive use behaviour are the approval of family
planning, the communication with wife on family planning matters, and
the desire for children. The multivariate analysis shows that men living
in urban areas, with greater knowledge and a positive attitude towards
family planning, are more likely to use contraception. In addition,
wife’s autonomy is also important in explaining men’s involvement in the
use of family planning. The study reveals that most Pakistani men
approve of family planning and suggests that men should receive an equal
focus together with women in the population welfare programme
activities.
Vinala Ramachandran (ed.). Gender and Social Equity in Primary
Education: Hierarchies of Access. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2004.
381 pages. Paperback. Indian Rs 390.00.
Authors: Mahmood Mir Annice
Published: August 2018

Education is a basic human right. Over the past sixty years
much progress has been made in raising literacy levels across a large
cross-section of developing countries. For instance, Pakistan has seen
an increase in literacy levels from 15 percent in 1951 to just over 50
percent in 2004. In India also there has been a significant increase in
literacy levels. The 2001 Census of India showed that 65.4 percent of
the population could be considered to be literate. A breakdown by sex
revealed that more males (75.85 percent) were literate than females
(54.16 percent). Although the figures are impressive, much remains to be
done in India if literacy levels are to be raised to the levels that
prevail in the developed world. Thus, appropriate plans, programmes, and
projects need to be implemented to provide basic primary education to
all children. However, there are two sides to the picture; one that
deals with the demand for education and the other with the supply of
education. On the demand side, one of the most important factors is that
of income of the parents. On the supply side, it is the quality of
education being imparted, particularly the level of teaching standards,
and the up-keep of school buildings.
The Supply and Demand for Exports of Pakistan: The Polynomial Distributed Lag Model (PDL) Approach
Authors: Zeshan Atique  , Mohsin Hasnain Ahmad
Published: August 2018

In the global economy, the performance of any country will greatly depend on the performance of its exports. The trade performance determines the prospects of change. It helps countries win friends, and break the traditional mould of isolation and indifference. The performance of exports of countries depends on various price and non-price factors. In international trade transactions it is important to recognise that these transactions require some amount of time that occurs between the decision to buy and actual delivery of the product from foreign country. In the Econometric modelling lag occupies a central role. It is recognised that due to psychological, technical and institutional reasons, a dependent variable may respond to explanatory variables with lapse of time, in particular when dealing with time-series trade models.
Solving Pakistan’s Poverty Puzzle: Whom Should We Believe? What Should We Do? (The Omer Asghar Khan Memorial Lecture)
Authors: Rashid Amjad
Published: August 2018

Understanding Pakistan’s economic performance has never been easy. Its capacity to generate impressive rates of economic growth in the 1960s and 1980s with low levels of savings, investment and very poor human development indicators confounded its critics. Indeed during the overall period 1960-1990 Pakistan’s growth performance would place it in the top ten countries in the world. This made an eminent economist Professor Richard Eckaus remark, “Pakistan is a puzzle, a miracle of levitation. With one of the lowest domestic savings rate in Asia, its economy has performed quite creditably. Since we do not believe in miracles, we have to wonder whether the capital inflows that have sustained this growth will last”.1 Unfortunately they did not. Pakistan’s growth rate in the 1990s came tumbling down, the result of a number of factors of which a decline in capital inflows also played a significant part. If Pakistan’s growth performance has been in part difficult to justify then understanding or explaining changes and wide fluctuations in its poverty levels has posed even a more challenging task. Pakistan has witnessed over the last three decades periods of high economic growth, as in the 1960s, accompanied with increasing poverty levels, periods of low economic growth, as in the 1970s, accompanied by reductions in poverty levels, periods of high economic growth leading to a decline in poverty as in the 1980s and periods of low economic growth as in the 1990s accompanied by as we shall see by increasing poverty levels.
Export Competitiveness and Comparative Advantage of Pakistan’s Non-agricultural Production Sectors: Trends and Analysis
Authors: Amir Mahmood
Published: August 2018

The composition and volume of global trade has witnessed significant changes during the last two decades. Trade liberalisation, rising income and technological advancements, have been the main determinants. Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing global export pattern, and the success of Southeast Asian economies, there is a strong case for Pakistan to pursue an export-led growth strategy that leads ultimately to improve living standards. However, given Pakistan’s past macroeconomic performance and its current export structure, such a turnaround would require a major structural transformation of the economy and changes in its export specialisation patterns.
Socio-economic Development, Population Policies, and Fertility Decline in Muslim Countries
Authors: Mehtab S. Karim
Published: August 2018

As societies transform from a predominantly traditional to a predominantly modern system, they tend to experience considerable demographic changes. Coale (1984) notes that this “transformation is the substitution of slow growth achieved with low fertility and mortality for slow growth maintained with relatively high fertility and mortality rates”. Demographic transition in Muslim countries is a fairly late phenomenon as discussed in the next section. Most of these countries have followed a similar trend as by many other developing countries. According to the most recent estimate provided by The Economist [September (2003)], the number of Muslims was 1.5 billion in 2003, of which about 97 percent were living in Asian and African countries. About one fourth were concentrated in South Asia and another one-fifth in the Middle-East and North Africa (Arab countries). Figure 1 provides the breakdown of Muslim population living in different regions of the World. Percentage of population in major Muslim countries and their estimated number at the beginning of the 21st Century are given in Table 1. Of 47 Muslim-majority countries, where more than 50 percent of the total population is reported to be followers of Islam,1 36 have populations that are more than 85 percent Muslims, while only seven of them contain less than 70 percent Muslims. However, the six largest Muslim-majority countries (in order, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey and Egypt) contain about two-thirds of the
Trade Liberalisation as an Instrument for Regional
Co-operation
Authors: Asaduzzaman Muhammad
Published: August 2018

South Asia is home to nearly 1.4 billion people, a vast part
of humanity. The countries in the region vary widely in the size of the
population as well as area and physiography. On one side of the scale is
India with a population of more than a billion while on the other side
is Maldives with a population no more than half a million. There is
Bangladesh which is essentially a flat delta, island countries such as
Sri Lanka and Maldives and countries full of high rise mountains such as
Nepal and Bhutan. In between are India and Pakistan with some of
everything. While there are several such external differences among the
countries in the region and their people, these are literally only
skin-deep. The people in the region share, by and large, the same basic
culture. In many cases the same or a similar language is spoken across
the borders. There are, of course, local variations in the general
pattern. But that diversity makes it all the more interesting and
attractive. It is only natural that the countries of the region will
band together to show a united face to the world. This is yet to happen,
though.
South Asian Free Trade Area and Indo-Pakistan Trade
Authors: Mukherji Indra Nath
Published: August 2018

Preferential trading is one of the mildest forms of an
integrative arrangement. Under the arrangement, the Contracting States
(CS) offer a preferential margin with respect to trade barriers in
relation to their MFN rates. CS having disparate levels of development
as well as trade regimes, find this an acceptable instrument for
initiating regional trade liberalisation. Such an arrangement
nevertheless provides the building blocks towards accelerated regional
trade liberalisation culminating in a free trade area within a defined
time frame. Under a free trade area the CS eliminate all trade
restrictions on their mutual trade, while maintaining restrictions in
their trade with non-CS at a level they deem appropriate. When all CS
decide on a common external tariff, then the arrangement translates
itself in a more cohesive customs union. The arrangement translates to a
common market when all CS agree not only to allow free movement of goods
and services, but all the factors of production including capital and
labour. Finally, the most comprehensive form of an integrative
arrangement results from an economic union, which integrates national
economic policies of CS and leads to the adoption of a common currency.
The Agreement on South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA),
which became operational since December 7th, 1995 thus, symbolises the
beginnings of the very first stage of an integrative arrangement among
the member countries of SAARC. The decision made at the Twelfth SAARC
Summit at Islamabad in January 2004 to launch South Asian Free Trade
Agreement (SAFTA) from January 2006 would mark the second stage of the
process of integration in the region. The main focus of this paper is to
assess the impact of SAPTA on Indo-Pak trade.
Exploring Pakistan’s Regional Economic Cooperation Potential ( The Presidential Address)
Authors: A. R. Kemal
Published: August 2018

Free trade benefits are not well-harnessed despite the WTO because of the regional groupings. Such groupings have, in fact, resulted in a chaos. Pakistan has been a member of the SAARC and the ECO. In both the groups, intra-regional trade accounts for only four percent of total trade. The present study briefly reviews and identifies constraints to intra-regional trade and other modes of economic cooperation in the region. The SAFTA agreement and the possibilities of greater economic cooperation are also examined. Comparative advantage and low trade complementarity are found to be the main impediments to trade. Other obstacles such as limited capacity to generate exportable surpluses, restrictive trade policies, and political problems have also inhibited the growth of intra-regional trade. Higher trade levels can be achieved through intra-industry trade, vertical specialisation, joint export marketing of competing regional export products, deepening trade liberalisation, promoting monetary cooperation, and encouraging joint industrial ventures. It is imperative for the success of SAFTA that the negative list is kept quite small and the countries are prepared for closure of a few industries. Thus the SAFTA has great potential and South Asian countries should accept short-term costs for longrun benefits. Expansion of trade as well as efficiency and improved quality of exports would benefit the countries participating in the regional co-operation effort.
Health-seeking Behaviour of Women Reporting Symptoms of Reproductive Tract Infections
Authors: Durr-e- Nayab
Published: August 2018

A woman’s access to health care, in physical, social, and psychological contexts, depends on her health beliefs and her socio-economic and demographic background. As in most developing countries, the health system in Pakistan is a combination of modern and traditional medicine, and the nature of care sought again depends on the individual’s health beliefs and background characteristics. This paper thus not only focuses on whether women seek help or not when sick, but also on the differentials that exist in the health-seeking behaviour among women with different backgrounds. It finds that less than half the women reporting any symptom related to reproductive tract infections seek help, while for some symptoms the proportion seeking help goes down to a mere one-fifth. The decision to seek help depends on a woman’s educational and economic status, the extent to which she is worried about the symptom, duration of experiencing the symptom, and inter-spousal communication about the symptom. Lack of finances to access any health service and considering the symptom as something common not needing attention are the two main reasons for not seeking help. The choice of the healthprovider consulted for a symptom is linked to the perceived cause of the symptom, but allopathic doctors are preferred by the majority of women seeking health care.
Suresh Chandra Babu and Ashok Gulati. Economic Reforms and Food Security: The Impact of Trade and Technology in South Asia. New York: Food Products Press, 2005. 483 pages. Price not given.
Authors: Atiq ur Rehman
Published: August 2018

This book covers a wide range of issues relating to food security (in order of hierarchy) including the globalisation and liberalisation of trade, the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Intellectual Property Rights, market reforms, technological options, diversification and research needs, water security, and household food security. Further, recommendations are made to cope with challenges of food insecurity. The authors emphasise the need of continuity of the current trend of reforms and devising new policies for the agricultural, food, and natural resources sectors. The issues of poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition are being faced across South Asia. These are important not only on economic grounds but also on ethical grounds. The volume’s twenty one chapters, divided into seven parts, have been contributed by twenty-nine experts. Part I discusses economic reforms, trade, technology, and food security. The authors analyse food security situation in the region in the longrun perspective and discuss policy imperatives to cope with this challenge. Among the recommendations, are the need for investment in human resources, improvement in rural infrastructure, development of pro-poor technologies, and promotion of regional cooperation.
Philip Albert Theodor Kircher. Poverty Reduction Strategies. Gottingen Studies in Development Economics. Frankfurt, Germany: Peter Lang, 2002. xiv+275 pages. Paperback. Price not given.
Authors: Faheem Jehangir Khan
Published: August 2018

Poverty is one of the most depressing global problems in the world today. Therefore, there is a growing consensus among development organisations that poverty alleviation should be the primary goal of cooperation between the rich and the poor countries. This consensus is due to the awareness that a widening international income gap threatens the well-being of people in the rich countries. In this volume, the author, Philip Kircher, offers a comprehensive study on the evolution, the content, the different national accentuations, and the problem of the international consensus on poverty alleviation, and provides a systematic analysis of today’s donor strategies for development cooperation for poverty reduction. The study focuses specifically on the strategic positions of the World Bank, the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany, and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), as well as the positions presented by the governments of these countries in regard to development.
Do the Poor Benefit from Public Spending? A Look at the Evidence
Authors: John Gafar
Published: August 2018

This paper shows that public spending on basic services, to wit, primary and secondary education and basic health care, benefit the poor; while the non-poor are the principal beneficiaries of tertiary and education subsidies and hospital spending. The evidence also shows that expenditures on infrastructure spending tend to benefit the nonpoor disproportionately more than the poor.
P-Star Model: A Leading Indicator of Inflation for Pakistan
Authors: Abdul Qayyum  , Faiz Bilquees
Published: August 2018

The P-star inflation model is based on the long-term quantity theory of money and puts together the long-term determinants of the price level and the short-run changes in current inflation. The P-star model-based indicator has replaced the previous monetary policy procedures in a number of countries because it offers by far more information and predictive power than monitoring movements in money supply and the rate of monetary growth. In this paper we used the P-star model to calculate the leading indicator of inflation, and also to test the forecasting performance of the P-star model-based leading indicator of inflation. The results of the study show that compared to the simple autoregressive model and the M2 growth augmented model, the P-star model can be used to obtain the leading indicator of inflation in Pakistan because it has additional information about the future rate of inflation. Therefore, this paper provides a useful tool to the policy-makers to assess the future movement of inflation in Pakistan..
Determinants of Collective Action under Devolution Initiatives: The Case of Citizen Community Boards in Pakistan
Authors: Takashi Kurosaki
Published: August 2018

In 2001, a scheme called Citizen Community Board (CCB), a kind of communitybased organisation (CBO), was introduced in Pakistan, under which local people propose development projects to the local government through forming a CCB, and upon approval the local government funds 80 percent of the project cost. Since 2001, however, both the number of CCBs and that of approved projects have been below the expected level. This raises a concern that the Pakistani society with limited historical experience in CBO-based development is too handicapped for the CCB scheme to be successful. This paper addresses this concern through quantifying the determinants of successful formation of a CCB and those of successful development activities conditional on the formation. The regression results using a cross-section dataset in a district in Pakistan Punjab in 2004-05 suggest that the rules within a CCB and the type of leadership are key to the success of CCB initiatives.
Joachim von Braun and Rajul Pandya-Lorch (eds.). Food Policy for the Poor: Expanding the Research Frontiers: Highlights from 30 Years of IFPRI Research. Washington, D. C.: IFPRI, 2005. 253 Pages. Price not given.
Authors: Ayaz Ahmed
Published: August 2018

The research of the past 30 years at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is highlighted in this volume. The topic is food and nutrition security. Of related concern are the development strategies that impact on technologies for agricultural production, resource management, conflicts and natural disasters, subsidies and safety nets, gender roles, and health. The book consists of nine chapters. The first chapter discusses a changing IFPRI in a changing world. The current and future world food situation is analysed and ways are suggested to increase agricultural production and to explore policies for improving production, trade, and distribution of food so that an increase in the quantity and quality of food would be available for all people. IFPRI has heightened its efforts to raise the awareness about emerging food security issues. In particular, its “2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment” initiative is aimed at promoting policy actions that will lead to food and nutrition security.
Shorter Notices
Authors: Kalbe Abbas
Published: August 2018

Download the PDF file
Governance, Globalisation, and Human Development in Pakistan
Authors: Naved Ahmad
Published: August 2018

The controversy over the likely effects of globalisation on economic wellbeing is well debated in the literature, yet the subject remains open for further examination. One can easily relate anything to the concept of globalisation, as it is so broad, diverse, vague and volatile. The word globalisation has been used in different context and with so many different connotations. When people use the word globalisation they mean what they choose it to mean. A large number of studies have been conducted to ascertain the effects of globalisation on third world economies including Pakistan. Many scholars, despite recognising the need for globalisation as an impetus to economic growth, blame that the process of globalisation has divided the world into two classes: rich and poor. In this paper we attempt to show that bad governance has reduced the benefits of globalisation in Pakistan. We approach this task by first defining the term globalisation and its various components. Second, we investigate the relationship between governance and the benefits of globalisation.
Productivity and Skills in Industry and Services—A Britain-German Comparison (Distinguished Lecture)
Authors: Karin Wagner
Published: August 2018

It is widely accepted that the vocational and professional training system has a major impact on national competitiveness. In this paper a number of German-British studies in manufacturing and services are examined in order to show how skill systems have affected the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the two countries’ productivity performances. The studies have been conducted since the end of the 1980s to 2003 and have revealed specific links between vocational training, products and competitiveness on the basis of matched plant comparisons. The comparison between Britain and Germany has been chosen as these countries have very different national VET systems. The findings suggest that higher levels of apprenticeship training in German companies give them an advantage over their British counterparts with respect to flexibility to changes in markets, technology, quality and supply chains. The paper closes with a short discussion.
Productivity and Economic Growth in South Asia and China (Distinguished Lecture)
Authors: T. N. Srinivasan
Published: August 2018

This paper, begins with a discussion of the well-known issues involved in defining and measuring total factor productivity (TFP) and its contribution to growth (as well as the possible contribution of growth to productivity), the economic theory underpinning productivity, and policies that impact on and influence changes in productivity. It is followed by, first, a selective discussion of the studies on cross-country variation in productivity levels and growth, and then the experience of South Asia and China in a comparative perspective across the region and across the developing world. The share of South Asia in global GDP and its growth has remained stagnant since the early nineties. Disturbingly, except India, the rest of South Asia experienced a decline in TFP growth between 1989-95 and 1995-2003. The paper concludes that for achieving sustained productivity growth, well-functioning social and economic institutions are important, since through their incentive structure they influence, labour force participation, savings and accumulation of human and physical capital, risk-taking and innovation as well as efficiency of resource allocation. Public policies, particularly macro-economic, foreign trade and investment policies, matter a great deal.
Does Inequality Matter for Poverty Reduction? Evidence from Pakistan’s Poverty Trends
Authors: Haroon Jamal
Published: August 2018

The paper explores the linkages between poverty, growth and inequality in the context of Pakistan. Time series macro data are used for the period 1979 to 2002. Consistent poverty and inequality measures are interpolated to facilitate the estimation of poverty elasticity with respect to growth and inequality in a multivariate regression framework. The paper also attempts to find out macroeconomic and structural correlates of inequality. The empirical findings—high poverty elasticity with respect to inequality measures—confirm the importance of inequality in poverty reducing effort. Inflation, sectoral wage gap, and terms of trade in favour of manufacturing exacerbate inequality, while progressive taxation, investment and development expenditure on social services play a significant role in reducing inequality. The results also indicate a positive correlation between per capita GDP and income inequality.