The Uruguay Round Agreement: Implications for Pakistan’s Textiles and Clothing Sector

The Uruguay Round (UR), which marked the conclusion of protracted multilateral trade negotiations, resulted in comprehensive agreements on multilateral trade in goods and services within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The newly created World Trade Organisation (WTO) provides an institutional framework that encompasses all the agreements and legal instruments negotiated in the UR as well as the dispute settlement procedures and provisions for the regular monitoring of policies of the member countries. The UR agreement has been widely perceived as constituting a major advance in the process of multilateral liberalisation of trade in goods and services and, when fully implemented, is expected to improve economic efficiency and welfare from the global, national and sectoral standpoints. An important feature of the UR agreement is the incorporation of new sectors like textiles and clothing within the ambit of the GATT/WTO framework. In view of the fact that the textiles and clothing industry is one of the few sectors in which developing countries enjoy a distinct comparative advantage over industrial countries, the UR agreement holds considerable significance for developing economies like Pakistan.

Determinants of Interest Spread in Pakistan

Interest spread of the Pakistan’s banking industry has been on the rise for the last two years. The increase in interest spread discourages savings and investments on the one hand, and raises concerns on the effectiveness of bank lending channel of monetary policy on the other. This study examines the determinants of interest spread in Pakistan using panel data of 29 banks. The results show that inelasticity of deposit supply is a major determinant of interest spread whereas industry concentration has no significant influence on interest spread. One reason for inelasticity of deposits supply to the banks is the absence of alternate options for the savers. The on-going merger wave in the banking industry will further limit the options for the savers. Given the adverse implications of banking mergers for a competitive environment, we argue that to maintain a reasonably competitive environment, merger proposals may be subjected to review by an antitrust authority with the central bank retaining the veto over merger approval.Banks, Determination of Interest Rates, Mergers, Acquisitions

Attitude Towards Civil Service of Pakistan: A Perception Survey

Amid growing concerns on the popularity of the civil service among the students, the study reports the findings of a perception survey of enrolled university students. Contrary to common perceptions, the results suggest that the civil service still retains its allure among the potential entrants. Those who prefer the civil service as a career are more concerned with job security than those who prefer a job in the private sector. The Foreign Service of Pakistan appears to be the most favourite group whereas the Accounts Group is the least preferred. The District Management Group (DMG) seems to no longer enjoy a coveted position due perhaps to the implementation of the devolution plan which has stripped the group of its power and privileges.Students, Civil Service, Public Choice, Job Search, Employment Decision

Determinants of Interest Spread in Pakistan

Interest spread of Pakistan s banking industry has been on the rise for the last two years. The increase in interest spread discourages savings and investments, on the one hand, and raises concerns about the effectiveness of the bank-lending channels of monetary policy, on the other. This study examines the determinants of interest spread in Pakistan using panel data of 29 banks. The results show that the share of interest-insensitive deposits in total bank deposits is a key determinant of interest spread, whereas industry concentration has no significant impact on interest spread. Furthermore, the ongoing merger wave in the banking industry will limit the options for the savers, with adverse implications for the interest spread. We argue that to maintain a reasonably competitive environment, merger proposals may be subjected to review by an anti-trust authority.Banks, Determination of Interest Rates, Mergers, Acquisitions

Determinants of Interest Spread in Pakistan

Interest spread of the Pakistans banking industry has been on the rise for the last two years. The increase in interest spread discourages savings and investments on the one hand, and raises concerns on the effectiveness of bank lending channel of monetary policy on the other. This study examines the determinants of interest spread in Pakistan using panel data of 29 banks. The results show that inelasticity of deposit supply is a major determinant of interest spread whereas industry concentration has no significant influence on interest spread. One reason for inelasticity of deposits supply to the banks is the absence of alternate options for the savers. The on-going merger wave in the banking industry will further limit the options for the savers. Given the adverse implications of banking mergers for a competitive environment, we argue that to maintain a reasonably competitive environment, merger proposals may be subjected to review by an antitrust authority with the central bank retaining the veto over merger approval.Banks, Determination of Interest Rates, mergers, Acquisitions

Regional Economic Integration in South Asia: The Way Forward

regional Cooperation, Economic Integration, South Asia

Openness and Economic Growth in Pakistan

Trade and growth theories generally predict a positive relationship between openness to international trade and economic growth. There are a number of channels through which openness is thought to influence economic growth. First, a liberal trade regime enhances efficiency through greater competition and improved resource allocation. Second, greater access to world markets allows economies to overcome size limitations and benefit from economies of scale. Third, imports of capital and intermediate goods can contribute to the growth process by enlarging the productive capacity of the economy. Fourth, trade can lead to productivity gains through international diffusion and adoption of new technologies. Empirical studies on the relationship between openness and economic growth have largely supported the view that openness has a favourable impact on economic growth. It is not surprising, then, that the proposition that more open economies tend to grow faster has gained wide acceptance in academic as well as policy circles. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between openness and economic growth in the context of Pakistan’s economy. Section 2 reviews the literature on openness and economic growth. Section 3 provides an overview of trade liberalisation in Pakistan. Data and methodology are described in Section 4, while Section 5 presents the empirical results. Section 6 concludes the discussion.

Technical Efficiency of Pakistan s Manufacturing Sector: A Stochastic Frontier and Data Envelopment Analysis

This paper examines the efficiency of the large-scale manufacturing sector of Pakistan using parametric as well as non-parametric frontier techniques. Production frontiers are estimated for two periods-1995-96 and 2000-01-for 101 industries at the 5-digit PSIC. The results show that there has been some improvement in the efficiency of the large-scale manufacturing sector, though the magnitude of improvement remains small. The results are mixed at the disaggregated level: whereas a majority of industrial groups have gained in terms of technical efficiency, some industries have shown deterioration in their efficiency levels. The results from both the approaches are consistent, and in line with similar studies.Manufacturing Industries, Technical Efficiency, Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis

Efficiency of Large Scale Manufacturing in Pakistan : A Production Frontier Approach

This paper examines the efficiency of the large scale manufacturing sector of Pakistan using the stochastic production frontier approach. A stochastic production frontier is estimated for two periods1995-96 and 2000-01for 101 industries at the 5-digit PSIC. The results show that there has been some improvement in the efficiency of the large scale manufacturing sector, though the magnitude of improvement remains small. The results are mixed at the disaggregated level : whereas a majority of industrial groups have gained in terms of technical efficiency, some industries have shown deterioration in their efficiency levels.Manufacturing Industries, technical efficiency, stochastic frontier analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis