Purchasing Power Parity: Implication with respect to Pakistan and USA

The basic aim of this paper is theoretical explanation of Purchasing Power Parity and its practical implication in the real world. The researchers tried to explain whether it holds in the real world or not, if not then what are major factors deviating its practical implication from that what the theory says about it. This paper specifically draws the findings how actually exchange rate moves with the domestic and foreign price index. This study is based on the historical prices indexes of two countries Pakistan and USA pertaining the period from 1980 to 2011. So our sample size is two with the number of observations equal to 31. The results of this research expressed the findings that the Exchange rate (Pakistani rupees per dollar ) increases with the increase in the domestic price index, means home currency will depreciate against the foreign currency. These findings are drawn on the basis of beta coefficients obtained from the regression analysis. The research results expressed that PPP holds to some extent which shows that inflation differential has a considerable impact on exchange rate movement but it is not the only factor. Keywords: Relative PPP, Absolute PPP, IRP, Exchange rates, Inflation rate differential

Measuring Default Risk in Farm and Non-Farm Sector

The purpose of this paper is to measure and analyze the risk associated with farming and non-farming sector and to investigate the liquidity and credit risk relationship. Also to analyze the market for farm and non-farm micro-finance which can be either high or low quality. The only project their borrowers, micro-finance institutions are high or low quality (MFI) because they know whether or not there is adverse selection. MFI is a competitive risk neutral, and they are the borrower's project is only profitable if they are to provide a loan agreement specifying the amount to be repaid. Otherwise, the borrower will default on his contract this. In this Research Qualitative research design is used in which different theoretical models are used to explore the default risk. Credit risk model is used to explicitly account for adverse selection, then a study of adverse selection, loan defaults, and made self-financing. This is a simple review of the existing literature related to the farm and non-farm credit risk. The main finding of this research is that Farming sector is more risky than non-farming for the loans granting. Keywords: Loans, Default risk, farming, non-farming secto

Youth Unemployment and Immigration: A Case Study of Ontario, Canada

This study investigates the long-run relationship between youth unemployment and net immigration in Ontario, Canada where youth is defined as ages between 15-24. Two different models are estimated based on different definitions of youth. An Auto regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) framework is used to establish the direction of causation between the variables. The study concludes a long-run relationship between youth unemployment and immigration. The estimation of the long-term coefficients shows that there exists a long-run relationship between youth unemployment and immigration, irrespective of the age cohort, showing that a 1% increase in immigration will lead to a 0.4% and 0.3% increase in youth unemployment for Model I and Model II respectively.Youth unemployment is likely to be affected by other factors as well such as government austerity measures, adult unemployment rates and overall economic situation. Therefore this study can be further extended to include various other relevant variables. Given the specificity of our research question, time limitations and data availability these factors were not considered in our research. It can be further expanded to include other Canadian Provinces as well

Measuring Default Risk in Farm and Non-Farm Sector

The purpose of this paper is to measure and analyze the risk associated with farming and non-farming sector and to investigate the liquidity and credit risk relationship. Also to analyze the market for farm and non-farm micro-finance which can be either high or low quality. The only project their borrowers, micro-finance institutions are high or low quality (MFI) because they know whether or not there is adverse selection. MFI is a competitive risk neutral, and they are the borrower's project is only profitable if they are to provide a loan agreement specifying the amount to be repaid. Otherwise, the borrower will default on his contract this. In this Research Qualitative research design is used in which different theoretical models are used to explore the default risk. Credit risk model is used to explicitly account for adverse selection, then a study of adverse selection, loan defaults, and made self-financing. This is a simple review of the existing literature related to the farm and non-farm credit risk. The main finding of this research is that Farming sector is more risky than non-farming for the loans granting. Keywords: Loans, Default risk, farming, non-farming secto

Willingness to Pay for Community-Based Healthcare Insurance Schemes in Developing Countries: A Case of Lahore, Pakistan

BACKGROUND: Healthcare costs and poverty are significant barriers to achieving universal access to healthcare. Thus, Community-Based Health Insurance Schemes (CBHIS) are regarded as an influential instrument for providing access to healthcare. For this purpose, this study was carried out in order to assess the community’s Willingness to Pay (WTP) for CBHIS and its determinants among the residents of Lahore City.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was adopted during the period of May 2018 to August 2018 to conduct a standardized questionnaire survey among targeted population of Lahore. A total of 250 households from lower, middle and upper-middle-class areas were approached randomly from which 200 participated in the survey, rendering a response rate of 90.9%. Sample size was determined by using single population proportion formula assuming 5% margin of error and 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Moreover, multiple regression analysis, Pearson’s correlation and t-test were employed to determine relationships between different variables affecting WTP.RESULTS: Sixty-four percent of the respondents were willing to pay for CBHIS. Among the remaining thirty-six% of unwilling the community, income level (p< 0.05, CI=0.34 to 1.11) and education level (p< 0.05, CI=0.52-1.37) were significant predictors of WTP. Moreover, strong positive relation (p<0.05) between people’s awareness and WTP for CBHIS was witnessed. The findings further suggested that the larger population of the willing community was not willing to pay more than 5000 Rs annually.CONCLUSION: Henceawareness level of the community regarding the benefits of CBHIS is a major hindrance. The key policy priority is to increase the community’s awareness regarding the benefits of CBHIS and to increase willingness to pay rate among public.&nbsp

Electronic Health (e-health) Literacy among Undergraduate University Students

E-health literacy refers to the knowledge of electronic resources and searching techniques that are required to obtain credible health information. E-health literacy can help the general population to search, acquire, appraise, use and interpret health-related information from electronic sources, as well as to be able to apply the gained information to address and solve health-related problems. A large scale cross-sectional survey was conducted to appraise the e-health literacy skills among undergraduate psychology students. The population of the study comprised of undergraduate psychology students enrolled in the public sector universities. A questionnaire was developed by conducting a thorough review of the relevant literature on e-health literacy and assessing the electronic health information seeking behaviour in the participating universities. The collected data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-23) and presented in descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study concluded that majority of the respondents had moderate level of e-health literacy skills. The study recommended that the information professionals in the participating universities should play their effective role in promoting the e-health literacy among undergraduate psychology students through offering a structured program, having 02 credit hours, on e-health literacy skills

PHYTOCHEMISTRY AND PHARMACOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF LEUCAS URTICIFOLIA (VAHL) BENTH

Medicinal plants have attracted increased attention because of their beneficial effects on human health. Many medicinal plants are used as traditional medicine in various countries for long time. A large number of secondary metabolites with various biological activities have been discovered from various medicinal plants and some bioactive substances derived from plants have diverse functional roles as secondary metabolites and these properties can be applied to the developments of novel pharmaceuticals. Leucas Urticifolia (family- Lamiaceae) is an annual herbaceous plant and has various activities. Chemical studies have underlined the presence of various classes of compounds, the main being triterpenes, diterpene, flavonoids and fatty acids. The extract of this plant as well as pure compounds isolated from this plant, have been demonstrated to posses multiple pharmacological activities. In this review, we have explored the phytochemistry and pharmacological activites of Leucas Urticifolia in order to collate existing information on this plant as well as highlight its multi-activity properties as a medicinal agent

Happiness, Gratitude, Life Satisfaction, and Life Orientation among Working and Non-working Individuals

The study was conducted to find differences among working and non-working individuals regarding happiness, gratitude, life satisfaction, and life orientation. Convenient sampling technique was used to collect the data. The sample consisted of 300 individuals; 150 were working and 150 were non-working individuals. Out of 150 working participants, 75 participants were bankers and 75 were teachers. The non-working sample consisted of 75 males and 75 females. Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, The Gratitude Questionnaire-six item form (GQ- 6), Satisfaction with Life Scale and Life Orientation Test-Revised were used to measure happiness, gratitude, life satisfaction, and life orientation respectively. Correlation unveiled that happiness, gratitude, life satisfaction, and life orientation were positively correlated. Independent sample t-test showed that working individuals were happier, more grateful, and more satisfied with life as compared to non-working individuals while non-working females showed higher levels of gratitude, satisfaction, and positive life orientation than non-working men. Further independent sample t test indicated that bankers were happier than teachers. Multiple regression analysis showed that happiness and gratitude predict life satisfaction