Health Care Services and Government Spending in Pakistan

The study has been carried out to measure the incidence of government spending on health in Pakistan at provincial, both rural and urban level; using the primary data of the Pakistan Social Standard Living Measures Survey (PSLM), 2004-05, and by employing the three-step Benefit Incidence Approach (BIA) methodology. The paper reviews the national policies emphasising health services as well as the trend in access to and public sector spending on health care facilities in Pakistan. The study explores the inequalities in resource distribution and service provision against the government health expenditures. The rural areas of Pakistan are the more disadvantaged in the provision of the health care facilities. The expenditures in health sectors are overall regressive in rural Pakistan as well as at provincial and regional levels. Mother and Child subhead is regressive in Punjab and General Hospitals and Clinics are regressive in all provinces. Only the Preventive Measures and health facilities sub-sector is progressive in Pakistan. Public health expenditures are pro-rich in Pakistan.health, Expenditure, Public Policy, Gini, Concentration Coefficient, Mother and Child, Preventive Measures, Hospital and Clinics

Health Care Services and Government Spending in Pakistan

The study has been carried out to measure the incidence of government spending on health in Pakistan at provincial, both rural and urban level; using the primary data of the Pakistan Social Standard Living Measures Survey (PSLM), 2004-05, and by employing the three-step Benefit Incidence Approach (BIA) methodology. The paper reviews the national policies emphasising health services as well as the trend in access to and public sector spending on health care facilities in Pakistan. The study explores the inequalities in resource distribution and service provision against the government health expenditures. The rural areas of Pakistan are the more disadvantaged in the provision of the health care facilities. The expenditures in health sectors are overall regressive in rural Pakistan as well as at provincial and regional levels. Mother and Child subhead is regressive in Punjab and General Hospitals and Clinics are regressive in all provinces. Only the Preventive Measures and health facilities sub-sector is progressive in Pakistan. Public health expenditures are pro-rich in Pakistan.Health, Expenditure, Public Policy, Gini, Concentration Coefficient, Mother and Child, Preventive Measures, Hospital and Clinics

Public Provision of Education and Government Spending in Pakistan

The study has been carried out to measure the incidence of government spending on education in Pakistan at the provincial (both rural and urban) level, using the primary data of the Pakistan Social Standard Living Measures Survey (PSLM), 2004-2005, and by employing the three-step Benefit Incidence Approach methodology. The paper reviews the national policies emphasising provision of education in Pakistan, as well as the trend in coverage and public sector spending on education facilities in Pakistan. The study examines the inequalities in resource distribution and service provision in relation to the government education expenditure. The rural areas of Pakistan are the more disadvantaged in the provision of the education facilities. Overall, the expenditure on the education sector is progressive, both at the regional and the provincial levels. However, variation exists in the shares of different income groups’ benefit from the provision of educational facilities created by public expenditure.Education, Public Expenditure, Public Policy, Gini Coefficient, Concentration Coefficient, Benefit Incidence Approach

Public Provision of Education and Government Spending in Pakistan

The study has been carried out to measure the incidence of government spending on education in Pakistan at the provincial (both rural and urban) level, using the primary data of the Pakistan Social Standard Living Measures Survey (PSLM), 2004-2005, and by employing the three-step Benefit Incidence Approach methodology. The paper reviews the national policies emphasising provision of education in Pakistan, as well as the trend in coverage and public sector spending on education facilities in Pakistan. The study examines the inequalities in resource distribution and service provision in relation to the government education expenditure. The rural areas of Pakistan are the more disadvantaged in the provision of the education facilities. Overall, the expenditure on the education sector is progressive, both at the regional and the provincial levels. However, variation exists in the shares of different income groups benefit from the provision of educational facilities created by public expenditure.education, public expenditure, Public Policy, Gini Coefficient, Concentration Coefficient, Benefit Incidence Approach

Riba in Islamic finance: Some fresh insights

Abstract. In present-day Islamic finance, all forms of interest are considered riba, which is prohibited in the Qur’an. However, this definition of riba creates several problems in everyday business transactions. The Islamic financial institutions are obliged to adopt such operational procedures that closely resemble interest, the while they claim to be operating on interest-free basis. The paper delves into the Qur’anic text relating to riba and suggests an alternative understanding which can help resolve various controversies relating to riba and interest. It attempts to formulate a contemporary definition of riba which accommodates the current practice of Islamic financial institutions.Keywords. Riba in Qur’an, riba and interest, cash and credit prices, time value of money, riba and inflation, definition of riba, Islamic financial institutions.JEL. D64, E40, G21, Z12

Venture Capital Sector in Pakistan: Ratio Analysis Approach for Financial Performance Assessment

The purpose of study is to rank the venture capital companies operating in Pakistan during the period of 2006-2009 on the base of their financial performance. Ratio analysis technique was used to rank the venture capital companies using profitability / efficiency ratios and total assets as proxies of financial performance. This study concludes that TRG Pakistan Limited is at first in ranking on the bases of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and total assets, and at second on the base of earnings per share (EPS). AMZ Ventures Limited is at first on the base of earnings per share (EPS), at second in ranking on the bases of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and total assets. TMT Ventures Limited is third on the bases of all ratios, and total assets. This is the first attempt that was made with an objective to facilitate the students, investors and management of company with useful information regarding financial performance of all venture capital companies operating in Pakistan

Assessing farmer’s Pesticide Safety Knowledge in cotton growing area of Punjab, Pakistan

A pesticide safety knowledge test was developed to assess farmer’s knowledge related to pesticide safety. Yes-No (true-false) type 25 item, test, was constructed and used in a sample of 162 pesticide applicator in two districts of southern Punjab Pakistan. The overall mean score was 17.2(72%). More educated and adult respondents performed better than younger and illiterate. Similarly large land holder scored higher than small landholders, indicating their more access to information and extension. Overall ten Items received less than 50% correct response. The result shows that farmers have reasonably good knowledge but it still has to see, to what extent that knowledge is being used practically. It could possibly be the future research topic.Health cost, Environmental cost, Pesticide knowledge, pesticide safety

New approach to forecasting agro-based statistical models

This paper uses various forecasting methods to forecast future crop production levels using time series data for four major crops in Pakistan: wheat, rice, cotton and pulses. These different forecasting methods are then assessed based on their out-of-sample forecast accuracies. We empirically compare three methods: Box- Jenkins’ ARIMA, Dynamic Linear Models (DLM) and exponential smoothing. The best forecasting models are selected from each of the methods by applying them to various agricultural time series in order to demonstrate the usefulness of the models and the differences between them in an actual application. The forecasts obtained from the best selected exponential smoothing models are then compared with those obtained from the best selected classical Box-Jenkins ARIMA models and DLMs using various forecast accuracy measures