Productivity trends in the manufacturing industries

This paper attempts to provide empirical evidence on inter-industry differentials in productivity levels and their growth rates, and the distribution of productivity gains among the principal factors of production" i.e. labour and capital. Hardy any work has been done in Pakistan on providing a satisfactory quantitative measure of productive efficiency of the factors of production in the manufacturing industries. A study of this kind should be important not only from the economic but also from the social point of view because an optimal distribution of total ,gains in productivity is basically an empirical question and can not be discussed in general terms

Rashid Amjad. Private Industrial Investment in Pakistan 1960- 70, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1982. Price: S 25.00. 257 pp. Illustrations; appendices; bibliography; index.

The role of industrialization in economic development can hardly be overemphasized. The process of industrialization takes place through capital formation, and it is important that the factors which determine the rate of capital formation be identified and properly analysed. This book gives an in-depth analysis of private industrial investment in Pakistan during the Sixties, which increased sharply during the Second Plan period but declined during the Third Plan period. It examines the influence of foreign. resources inflow as well as of other factors on private industrial investment during the Sixties. It contains an enlightening discussion about the concentration of industrial power in a few hands, their control over financial institutions, and their role in the industrial growth of Pakistan

Robert L. Ayers. Banking on the Poor. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. 1983. 255pp.Appendices; notes; index.

This book is about "Robert McNamara's efforts to reorient the World Bank towards a more explicit concern with poverty alleviation in the world's poor countries." The World Bank is one of the most important (and probably the biggest) financial institutions which have been providing both technical and financial assistance to many developing countries for more than thirty years. The traditional role of the Bank has been that of helping the developing countries in their process of development by providing loans for projects with maximum growth effects. For quite a number of years in the post-war period these loans were granted mainly for infrastructure projects which were considered a prerequisite for development. An evaluation of such projects was relatively easy as their effects on the rest of the economy were easily quantifiable. Loans for social-overhead projects received relatively low priority as their output was not directly measurable and the element of risk was also high in such loans

Consumption and Employment Effects of Income Redistribution in Pakistan

The argument that growth and equality are two opposite objectives and the conviction that if the former is preferred in the short run, the latter will automatically follow in the long run, though very popular in the past, have become somewhat controversial in recent years. Available evidence from the developing countries does not seem to support the 'trickle down' theory. It is being increasingly felt that the solution to the problem of poverty does not lie in mere maximization of the GNP. Economists have now started stressing the need for 'direct attack on poverty' (6, pp.42- 44] and for specific policies with growth implications for different groups in the Society (2, p. xiii] . Redistribution of income among different groups is therefore emerging as an important policy objective in many developing countries, including Pakistan

Public Enterprise and Economic Development: The Korean Case. By Leroy P. Jones. Seoul (Korea): Korea Development Institute. 1975. xiii+293 pp.

While framing policies for economic development the public authorities-are by and large consciously or unconsciously motivated by their ideological convictions. In a capitalist economy, for instance, the government does not normally resort to socialist techniques even if those techniques promote social welfare. But this general rule, like many others, is not without exception. The book under review gives a clear example of such an exception. Public enterprise, though considered a necessary evil (p. 129), is shown to have per¬formed remarkably well in South Korea. During the short period of ten years-(1968-1972), the performance of the public sector in South Korea has been not only far better than in many other countries but the sector has also emerged as-a leading sector of the economy (p. 202)

Changes in Consumption Patterns and Employment under Alternative Income Distributions in Pakistan

The demand and employment effects of alternative distributions of the existing as well as the additional income generated through growth of the economy have been analysed in this paper. The results show that income redistribution in favour of the low-income households would increase the demand for basic necessities like wheat, pulses, edible oils, etc., while the demand for certain other commodities would decrease. The results also show that the consumption levels of the poor households can be significantly increased with income redistribution without much adverse effects on the rich. The employment effects are found to be positive and substantial

The Role of Small-scale Industry in Pakistan's Economy and Government Incentives

Despite the recognition of the importance of small-scale industry, the Government of Pakistan's industrial policy has been biased in the past towards the large-scale manufacturing sector. The First Five Year Plan (1955-60) document states the significance of small-scale industry in the following words. Small industry has specific contributions to make to economic development. In the first place, it can contribute to the output of needed goods without requiring the organization of large new enterprises or the use of much foreign exchange to finance the import of new equipment. Secondly, it can provide opportunities for employment beyond the narrow boundaries of urban centres. Finally, as history shows, it can perform an important function in promoting growth, providing training ground for management and labour, and spreading industrial knowledge over wide areas [8, p. 471]

Income-Specific Inflation Rates in Pakistan

In this paper an attempt has been made to find the inflation rates which were faced by households belonging to different income brackets and living in different areas. The results of this study do not show any consistent pattern of inflation being higher or lower for the rich or the poor households. During 1971-72 and between 1978-79 and 1980-81, households in the lower income brackets were found to be facing lower inflation rates. These were the years when food prices rose at lower rates than those of the prices of non-food items. These differences, however, disappeared in 1981-82 when food prices rose sharply, resulting in a higher inflation rate for the poor than for the rich. The numerical magnitudes of the differences were, however, not very high

EMI shielding properties of polymer blends with inclusion of graphene nano platelets

Polymer blends of poly vinyle chloride (PVC) and polyaniline (PANI) with the inclusion of graphene nano platelets (GNP) are fabricated to enhance the EMI shielding effectiveness. The initial assessment with cyclic voltammetry has shown improved electrical conductivity both for PVC/PANI blends and PVC/PANI/GNP composites. The capacitive effect of the blends and composites is evaluated at lower frequency region (100 Hz-5 MHz). EMI shielding measurements of PVC/PANI/GNP composites is performed in the frequency range 10 MHz-20 GHz. In case of PVC/PANI (15 wt%) blends, a maximum attenuation of similar to 27 dB is attained which is enhanced to similar to 51 dB (max.) with the inclusion of 5 wt% GNP, mainly due to the absorption phenomena. The enhanced shielding effectiveness is achieved mainly in the frequency range 11-20 GHz. The dispersion state, fillers nature and their interaction may be the main aspects for the enhanced EMI shielding effectiveness of hybrid polymeric nanocomposites.publishedVersionPeer reviewe