466 research outputs found
Economic Vision of Allama Iqbal
Allama Iqbal used both poetry and prose in Persian, Urdu and
English to convey his multi-dimensional feelings and thoughts. According
to one scholar, “Iqbal was a humanist and true citizen of the world. His
works testify to his acknowledged roles as poet and philosopher,
educator and student of cultures, lawyer and politician, missionary and
visionary, psychologist and sociologist, freedom fighter and inspirer of
a new nation, scholar and a man of action, mystic, seer and statesman”.1
As an all time great poet, Allama Iqbal had two shining
characteristics—an artistic one that presents poetry for leisurely
enjoyment and a visionary one that propels inspirational beams for
action and reform. As a great poet he also had a huge canvas to paint
on, and his subjects are big issues like humanity. In most of his
writings Allama Iqbal talks about the significance of man and his
dignity, freedom not only from political subjugation and intellectual
servility but also from hunger, ignorance, physical and spiritual
illnesses and other social and economic development issues facing the
poor and the weak nations of the East. As a universal humanist, Allama
Iqbal waged a relentless struggle to promote and defend human
self-esteem. Some scholars believe that “even his advocacy of Pakistan
was really based on humanist considerations”. He could not bear to see
one religions group dominating another simply because of numerical
majority.
Testing Onion Market Integration in Pakistan
This paper analyses spatial market integration using monthly wholesale real price of onion in four regional markets located in each of the four provinces of Pakistan. Unit root test indicates that the price series in each location are stationary, and the series are represented as autoregressive model for eachlocation. The error correction model results show that the regional markets of onion have strong price linkages, and thus are spatially integrated.
Measuring Production Function and Technical Efficiency of Onion, Tomato, and Chillies Farms in Sindh, Pakistan
Pakistan is blessed with vast agricultural resources on
account of its fertile land, well-irrigated plains, huge irrigation
system and infrastructure, variety of weathers, and centuries old
experiences of farming. Agriculture is the single largest sector of the
economy which contributes 20.9 percent in GDP and employees 43.4 percent
of total work force. The estimated GDP of agricultural crops at current
factor cost is Rs 1,608,522 million with major crops contributing Rs
579996 million and minor crops valued at Rs 191,835 million for the year
2006-07 [Pakistan (2007)]. The horticulture crops (fruits, vegetables
and condiments) alone contribute Rs 116.645 billion, equivalent to US 134 million (2003-04), of which
fruits account for US 25.7
million (19.2 percent) and fruit and vegetable preparations (mostly
juices) US$ 5.6 million which is 4.2 percent [Pakistan (2004)]
Testing Onion Market Integration in Pakistan
Spatial market integration of agricultural products has been
widely used to indicate overall market performance [Faminow and Benson
(1990)]. In spatially integrated markets, competition among arbitragers
will ensure that a unique equilibrium is achieved where local prices in
regional markets differ by no more than transportation and transaction
costs. Information of spatial market integration, thus, provides
indication of competitiveness, the effectiveness of arbitrage, and the
efficiency of pricing [Sexton, et al. (1991)]. If price changes in one
market are fully reflected in alternative market, these markets are said
to be spatially integrated [Goodwin and Schroeder (1991)]. Prices in
spatially integrated markets are determined simultaneously in various
locations, and information of any change in price in one market is
transmitted to other markets [Gonzalez-Rivera and Helfand (2001)].
Markets that are not integrated may convey inaccurate price signal that
might distort producers marketing decisions and contribute to
inefficient product movement [Goodwin and Schroeder (1991)], and traders
may exploit the market and benefit at the cost of producers and
consumers. In more integrated markets, farmers specialise in production
activities in which they are comparatively proficient, consumers pay
lower prices for purchased goods, and society is better able to reap
increasing returns from technological innovations and economies of scale
[Vollrath (2003)]
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