Exchange Rate Pass-through to Consumer Prices in Pakistan: Does Misalignment Matter?

This study investigates the impact of exchange rate changes on consumer prices (commonly known as exchange rate pass-through (ERPT)) in Pakistan for the period 1995M1 to 2009M3. The study estimates short-run and long-run ERPT in Pakistan while taking into account the existing real exchange rate misalignment (RERM). The results suggest that the ERPT to consumer price inflation in Pakistan is very low (close to zero). The impact of the previous periods’ misalignment on inflation is found significant in managed exchange rate regime. However, the overall sample misalignment does not affect inflation. The impact of foreign inflation on domestic inflation is positive and statistically significant.Pass-through, Misalignment, Inflation

Family Business Groups and Tunneling Framework : Application and Evidence from Pakistan

In Pakistan there is a ubiquity of firms in which there exists a controlling shareholder, usually in the form of the family. By and large this control is maintained via crossshareholding and inter-locked directorships which in turn is facilitated by the pyramidal organization of these firms. Moreover, these controlling families have often been alleged of tunneling resources from firms in which they have few cash flow rights to ones in which they have more cash flow rights. This paper attempts to quantify the extent of tunneling prevalent in Pakistani family business groups. The framework that is adopted is one that has been presented by Mullainathan et al. (2000) : we use the responses of different firms to performance shocks and map out the flow of resources within a group of firms to quantify the extent to which the marginal rupee is tunneled. We apply this technique to data on Pakistan business groups.Pakistan, tunneling, business groups, crossshareholding

Impact evaluation of structural adjustment program: a case of Pakistan

We analyzed the effect of Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) on macroeconomic variables of Pakistan using annual time series data for the years 1981-2001. The impact of four policy instruments of SAP, i.e. reduction in budget deficit, increase in indirect taxes,adjusting the exchange rate and sliding down of subsidies, on employment, income distribution, per-capita income and inflation has been analyzed. It is found that the first policy instrument, i.e. decrease in budget deficit has affected employment, income distribution and inflation adversely. The second policy instrument of imposition of indirect tax negatively affected the employment, income distribution, per capita income and positively affected the inflation. The third policy instrument of SAP was adjustment of exchange rate. It is estimated that adjusting exchange rate has resulted into increased unemployment and inflation. The fourth policy instrument of shrink in subsidies augmented the unemployment, unequal distribution of income and inflation and dwindled the percapita income. It appears that SAP has adversely affected the major socioeconomic variables of the economy. Currently the government is considering for loan from IMF, so it is proposed to avoid such type of policy directives from IMF.Structural Adjustment Program, Budget deficit, Indirect taxes, Exchange rate, Subsidies, Employment, Income distribution, Per-capita income, Inflation,Pakistan

Computational Analysis of Natural Ventilation Flows in Geodesic Dome Building in Hot Climates

For centuries, dome roofs were used in traditional houses in hot regions such as the Middle East and Mediterranean basin due to its thermal advantages, structural benefits and availability of construction materials. This article presents the computational modelling of the wind- and buoyancy-induced ventilation in a geodesic dome building in a hot climate. The airflow and temperature distributions and ventilation flow rates were predicted using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations were solved using the CFD tool ANSYS FLUENT15. The standard k-epsilon was used as turbulence model. The modelling was verified using grid sensitivity and flux balance analysis. In order to validate the modelling method used in the current study, additional simulation of a similar domed-roof building was conducted for comparison. For wind-induced ventilation, the dome building was modelled with upper roof vents. For buoyancy-induced ventilation, the geometry was modelled with roof vents and also with two windows open in the lower level. The results showed that using the upper roof openings as a natural ventilation strategy during winter periods is advantageous and could reduce the indoor temperature and also introduce fresh air. The results also revealed that natural ventilation using roof vents cannot satisfy thermal requirements during hot summer periods and complementary cooling solutions should be considered. The analysis showed that buoyancy-induced ventilation model can still generate air movement inside the building during periods with no or very low wind