Effectiveness of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth in Pakistan: A Policy Perspective Approach

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has significant impact on economic growth of developing countries like Pakistan for many decades. This paper has an objective to know the effects foreign direct investment on economic growth for the period from 1971-2012 by establishing empirical relation between business industries of primary, secondary and tertiary sector with FDI through Panel Cointegration and Granger Causality Framework for the specified period. The results show the significance of FDI and economic growth with proxies of GDP with the evidence of cointegration between these variables. The results also present long term causality between FDI and GDP while two-way causality if found under short run. Overall sectoral level, there is positively significance is identified between FDI and GDP. The policy Implications are also discussed in the paper showing that efficient and effective utilization of FDI.&nbsp

Impact of Major Economic Variables on Economic Growth of Pakistan

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of major economic variables includes inflation rate, interest rate and exchange rate on economic growth of Pakistan. The secondary data has been taken for the years from 1981 to 2013. The results from multiple linear regression model describe that both inflation rate and interest rate spread negative impact on Pakistan’s economic growth while exchange rate is found positively significant on the economy. Therefore, all selected variables having less impact on economic growth of the country as compare to other factors that put a serious impact on Pakistan’s economy conditions

Becker & Mincerian Models of Human Capital for Pakistan: A Case Study of Islamabad

Education is considered a key factor for of Human Capital formation which strengthens the society through skills, knowledge and as a result of that innovations take place. The Gary Becker and Mincer developed “Human Capital Model” which was based on relationship of income with level of education and experience. The present study investigates the effect of higher education and level experience on income of teaching staff of public sector educational institutes in Islamabad-Pakistan. There were 120 respondents randomly selected. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method was used to empirically examine the relationship among the variables. All coefficients of the variables found positively significant. The study concludes that increase in year of education and experience which ultimately increases income of the teaching staff. Therefore, the higher education plays a major role for enhancing income of teaching staffs of public sector educational institutes in Pakistan

Impact of Agricultural Credit on Production of Wheat Crop: A Case Study of District Faisalabad-Pakistan

Agriculture sector plays an important role in the economic development of Pakistan. Wheat is an important and most cultivated crop because it is an essential ingredient of food commodities. Credit plays a vital role in agricultural farming by indirectly participating in purchasing of agricultural inputs i.e. seed, fertilizer, irrigation, machinery and labor etc. Majority of the farmers are poor and they are not able to fulfill the cash requirement of farming, therefore credit has become their dire need. Due to credit farmers can timely purchase the agricultural inputs which resulting a bumper crop. The objective of this study is to depict the impact of credit on the production of wheat crop. Survey was conducted and random sampling technique was used to select the sample borrowers. The collected data was interpreted through “Cobb Douglas Production Function” by using statistical software (SPSS 16.0).The results showed that credit has positive and significant impact on wheat production. The values of R2 and F-statistics are found significant which represented that all selected variables are highly significant. The study not only shares the importance of credit to perform any agriculture activity but also helpful for economists and policy makers for designing agri financing policies

Exploring the Implications of Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Employees’ Performance

Emotional intelligence (EI) is an effective tool to increase organizational productivity. This study depicts the impact of EI on employees’ performance who are engaged with customer services by using four elements i.e. self awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management. A sample of 120 respondents was selected from four paint manufacturing companies in Pakistan. The primary data was collected through the structured questionnaire and simple regression method was used to investigate the relationship between employee’s performance and emotional intelligence. The results illustrate that EI has positive impact on employee’s performance. It is suggested that the implication of EI be ensured as contemporary need of customer services in paint industries so that organization productivity may be enhanced with efficient employees’ performance.&nbsp

Exploring the Effects of Training and Development Practices on Organization Performance: A Case Study of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

Training and development (T&D) is important for survival of every organization. It plays a strategic role to achieve the current as well as future goals of the organization. The core objective of the research was to explore the impact of training and development on organizational effectiveness. The research was based on a case study of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. The study consists of the data gathered through a structured questionnaire from the employees and management of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority in Islamabad and Rawalpindi region. The results have disclosed the importance of training and development practices and its impact on individuals as well as on organization. Furthermore, it is suggested that T&D programs should be carefully assessed, designed, implemented and evaluated in order to fill the gap between existing and required skills, abilities and knowledge of the employees; in addition to enhance the organizational effectiveness

Efficacy of Balloon Kyphoplasty in Compression Fractures of the Thoracolumbar Spine

Objective:  To study the Efficacy of Balloon Kyphoplasty in compression fractures of the thoracolumbar spine. Material and Methods:  This study was conducted on 95 patients with thoracolumbar wedge fractures from 2017 to 2022. Complete neurological examination and CT and MRI scans of the spine of all patients were done. All patients have been treated with a balloon kyphoplasty procedure. Data was collected on VAS score, SF-36 score, kyphotic angle and percentage of vertebral body destruction both preoperatively and post-operatively. Statistical analysis was done by using paired sample t-test. Results:  The mean age was 57 years. Males were 58.9% and females 41.0%. Osteoporosis was the cause of fracture in 90.5% and trauma in 9.4% of patients. VAS improved from 7.42 ± 1.24 to post-procedure 3.24 ± 1.51, P < 0.0001. SF-36 improved from 35.31 ± 17.4 to post-procedure 49.23 ± 19.2, P < 0.0001. Kyphosis angle restoration from 18.42 ± 7.41 to post-procedure 10.61 ± 6.32, P value < 0.0001. Percentage loss of vertebral height from 32.91% to postoperatively 17.64% (SD-17.2 and P < 0.0001). 10.5% of patients developed cement leakage and there is no leakage in 89.4%. The adjacent level fracture occurred in 4 patients. Conclusion:  Balloon Kyphoplasty is an effective procedure for thoracolumbar wedge fractures. It improves pain, activities of daily living, kyphosis angle improvement, and restoration of vertebral height

Efficacy of Posterior and Posterolateral Approach for Decompression and Fusion for Thoracolumbar Tuberculosis

Objective:  To study the efficacy of the posterior and posterolateral approach in thoracolumbar tuberculosis. Material and Methods:  60 patients with thoracolumbar TB spine were enrolled in the study from 2015 to 2021. These patients had single-level disease with low back pain and neurological compromise in lower limbs. The diagnosis was made on an MRI of the spine and elevated ESR levels. All patients were started with antituberculous treatment. The pain was measured on the VAS score, and neurological status was assessed on the ASIA score. Kyphosis angle was calculated on a lateral x-ray of the spine. All patients were operated on by posterior and posterolateral approaches with decompression and fusion. At follow-up, fusion was assessed on every visit by x-ray along with neurological status and pain score. Results:  The mean age of patients was 45.8 years (25 to 66 years). 59.5% patients achieved radiological fusion on follow-up x-rays. There was a significant improvement in VAS score preoperatively mean and SD6.38 ± 1.24to postoperatively 4.45 ± 1.09. The mean and SD of kyphosis in patients preoperatively was 22.3 ± 3.06 to post-operative 22.3 ± 3.06 with a p-value < 0.05 which shows significant improvement. Conclusion:  Posterior and posterolateral decompression and fusion of thoracolumbar tuberculosis is a good surgical approach in respect of neurological outcome, correction of kyphosis, and pain improvement

Computerized Tomographic Based Study of Thoracic Spine Morphology in Relevance to Pedicle Screw Fixation in Pakistani Population

Objective: To study the thoracic spine anatomy for accurate placement of pedicle screws using computerized tomography. Material and Methods: CT scans of 200 patients were included in our study. T1 to T12 vertebrae morphology was studied for each patient. Following measurements were taken, 1: Transverse pedicle width, 2 = Depth of anterior cortex along pedicle axis, 3 = Transverse pedicle angle, 4 = canal dimensions, 5 = vertebral body height anterior and posterior, 6 = mid vertebral body width. Results:  Transverse pedicle width decreased from T1 (4.06 ± 0.50 mm) to T4 (3.72 ± 0.17 mm) and then gradually increases to T12 (6.08 ± 0.60 mm). Depth of the anterior vertebral cortex remained constant from T1 to T4 and gradually increases up to T12. Transverse pedicle angle remained constant from T1 to T4 with a maximum at T4 (23.39 ± 3.15 mm) and then gradually decreased to T12 (3.99 ± 2.16 mm). Anteroposterior (AP) canal dimensions were minimum at T7 (17.03 ± 1.01 mm) and maximum at T2 (21.2 ± 1.07 mm). Interpedicular (IPD) canal dimensions were minimum at T6 (19.18 ± 1.6 mm) and maximum at T3 (23.18 ± 1.2 mm). Anterior vertebral body height was minimum at T1 (16.9 ± 1.34 mm) and maximum at T12 (27.14 ± 1.34mm). Posterior vertebral body height was minimum at T1 (18.8 ± 1.13 mm) and maximum at T12 (29.76 ± 1.43 mm). Conclusion:  A detailed anatomy of the thoracic spine is essential for surgical planning to decrease postoperative complications

Knowledge hiding behaviors as moderator between machiavellianism, professional envy and research productivity: Empirical evidence from emerging economy

Working in a toxic environment makes it harder to be productive. This study examines the direct impact of Machiavellianism and professional envy on research productivity (individual and group) with the moderating role of knowledge-hiding behaviors. For this purpose, through convenience sampling, an online survey through Google Docs was conducted, and 221 permanent faculty members from private sector higher education institutions participated. The impact of moderating variables between predictors and criterion variables was tested through PROCESS-macro. The findings of this study revealed that Machiavellianism and professional envy have a significant negative influence on individuals and as well group-based research productivity. In contrast, knowledge hiding behaviors of faculty members moderate the relationships between Machiavellianism, professional envy, and individual and group-based research productivity