Abstract

Pakistan’s economy experiences turbulence often. Are our economic policymakers thinking clearly? Since clarity of thought is reflected in writing, this study analyzes for its clarity the policy literature that economic planners at the Ministry of Finance publish for the general public. The analysis was done in two parts. First, the suitability of the texts for the general public was analyzed. Second, the structure and style of the texts were examined, both manually and with algorithms. The results suggest Pakistan’s economic writing is neither inclusive nor clear and easy to understand, suggesting that unclear thinking precedes our economic policy.

Key words: Economic writing, Economic policy analysis, Economic writing analysis, Economic thinking

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The post Unclear Economic Thinking first appeared on Learners’ Republic.

Abstract

Learners’ Republic organized a virtual roundtable conference on 23rd March 2020 to discuss the policy recommendations to mitigate the impact of COVID 19 in Pakistan 27 participants residing in various countries and fields of life, such as scientists, doctors, academics, retired civil servants, community workers, economists, journalists, sociologists, and technology professionals participated in the meeting. The conference was moderated by Dr. Naveed Iftikhar. The participants discussed and made recommendations in four main areas Containment of Infection, Healthcare, Social Protection, and Economic Recovery

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The post Round Table Fighting Covid-19 in Pakistan – Policy Recommendations first appeared on Learners’ Republic.

Abstract

This paper has been written by Dr. Amjad Waheed, CEO NAFA and Syed Asad Ali Shah, a practicing Chartered Accountant and former Managing Partner of Deloitte Pakistan, on behalf of the “C100 Think Tank’s”, Education Committee. Based on success of various public private initiatives, including cost effective project implementation and better quality service delivery, this paper proposes that the responsibility for imparting education should be transferred from pure government departments to some form of public private partnership, while overall accountability and funding remains the responsibility of the government. While this is quite an unusual strategy that may cause pervasive disruption, the
writers believe that owing to the critical importance of this sector and great potential of success of the concepts contained in this paper, it is highly desirable that our education governance is re-engineered based on proposals contained in this paper.

Learner’s Republic has placed this report on its website, on the request of the authors, for a dialogue on the findings and proposals presented in the report.

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The post Basic Education Strategy for Pakistan first appeared on Learners’ Republic.

Abstract

Health sector, and in particular mental health (MH), has not been prioritized in Pakistan. This policy note attempts to analyze the mental health challenge in Pakistan and aims to propose a policy response to address this issue. Mental illness is now responsible for the highest burden of illness globally and surpasses that of all cancers combined or cardiovascular disease. At any given time, about 1 in every 10 people worldwide suffers from a mental health disorder, and about 1 in 4 families has a member with a mental health disorder. This policy note suggests focusing on (a) legal and policy framework; (b) training and regulation of professional instruction in mental health; (c) mental health promotion, advocacy and alignment with SDGs; (d) mental health literacy and services in primary, secondary and higher educational institutes; (e) mental wellness through healthy parenting programs; and (f) organizational policies for mental health.

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The post Mental Health in Pakistan: Policymakers Need to Act Now first appeared on Learners’ Republic.

Abstract

Household owned micro-enterprises play an important role in generating livelihoods in developing countries like Pakistan. This paper presents first of its kind estimates of household enterprises in Pakistan using data from the Household Integrated Economic Survey 2015-16, including businesses operating in a fixed location or in mobile form. The analysis shows a total of 7.35 million household establishments operating in the country during 2015-16, with a slightly higher share in rural areas (52 percent), while province-wise, the significant share is based in Punjab (72 percent). The sectoral distribution shows that more than half of all household enterprises (53 percent) are working in the wholesale and retail trade sector, followed by transport and storage (14.6 percent) and manufacturing (13 percent) sectors. These household owned businesses have been severely hit by the recent slowdown in economic activities brought about by the COVID-19 crisis and require urgent support from the government. However, as such businesses are not registered with any government agency, it would be difficult to identify and reach them with any assistance. This study presents a roadmap for bringing these businesses operating in unorganized sector into the formal economy.

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The post Insights into the Informal Economy: Household Enterprises in Pakistan first appeared on Learners’ Republic.

Abstract

This volume is a collection of Naved Iftikhar’s OpEds published in different newspapers from 2015-2021, compiled in the following sections:
1. Economic Governance
2. Startups & Entrepreneurship
3. Public Policy
4. Cities & Urban Governance
5. Economic Research

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The post Perspectives on Economic Policy & Governance in Pakistan first appeared on Learners’ Republic.