Estimating Total Factor Productivity and Its Components: Evidence from Major Manufacturing Industries of Pakistan

This paper estimates the trend in total factor productivity growth for eleven major manufacturing sub-sectors/industries listed on Karachi Stock Exchange. 1998 to 2007 Malmquist total factor productivity growth indices have been calculated using nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis which also shows TFP growth sources including efficiency change and technical change. The results of this study are showing a mixed trend for all manufacturing sub-sectors/industries in terms of TFP, technical efficiency change and technological change. Cement and Oil and Gas marketing sectors depict a relatively stable position. Most of the manufacturing industries have gained, in terms of technical efficiency but the technical change is putting a negative affect on the productivity growth except for a few industries.Data Envelopment Analysis, Manufacturing Sector, Malmquist Productivity Index, Total Factor Productivity, Technical Efficiency Change, Technical or Technological Change, Pakistan

Efficacy of Opt-in vs. Opt-out Default Nudges to Encourage Socially Responsible Investing: The Moderating Role of Financial Literacy

This study intends to investigate the impact of opt-in and opt-out default nudges on Pakistani investors' decisions to make socially responsible investments, with the moderating influence of investors' financial literacy. A commercial online panel is used to gather data as part of an experiment with an incentive-based online survey. A total of N = 518 individuals are randomly assigned to two treatment groups—opt-in and opt-out—and one control group. The empirical findings of this study show that, although being less effective than the opt-out nudge effect, the opt-in nudge effect nevertheless has a considerable impact on SRI decisions. The study's results also show that financial literacy moderator has partially significant impact on the efficacy of default nudges. In order to improve investment instruments that might encourage SRI investment in society, SRI policymakers can benefit from this study

Efficiency Dynamics of Sugar Industry of Pakistan.

Pakistan is the 15th largest producer of sugar in the world, 5th largest in terms of area under sugar cultivation and 60th in yield. The sugar industry is the 2nd largest agro based industry which comprises of 81 sugar mills. With this scenario, Pakistan has to import sugar which exposes it to the effects of shortage and rising prices in the world. The present sugar crisis has opened up new avenues for researcher to analyse the performance and efficiency of the firms in this sector. Total factor productivity plays a significant role in measuring the performance of a firm which ultimately affects the shareholder’s value. This paper analyses the performance of sugar firms in Pakistan and estimate/calculate the Malmquist total factor productivity growth indices using non-parametric approach. TFP growth is further decomposed into technical, scale and managerial efficiency change using balanced panel data of 20 sugar firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange for the period 1998 to 2007. The results reflect a tormenting picture for the sugar industry. Overall sugar industry improved technological progress by 0.8 percent while managerial efficiency change put a negative effect on the productivity by a same percentage; as a result the overall total factor productivity during 1998-2007 remained almost static with a decline of 0.1 percent. The analysis of TFP and its sources in individual year for overall sugar industry also presents divergent trend. The research suggests that sugar industry is facing serious productivity growth problems where no increase is recorded in total factor productivity during 1998 to 2007. The sugar industry is lacking in terms of managerial efficiency which could be explained by a general reduction in the quality of managerial decision-making among the best practice firms. Regardless of the reason for this decline, it has potentially serious implications for the longer-term financial viability of these sugar firms. The pattern of TFP growth tends to be driven more by technical change (or technical progress) rather than improvements in technical efficiency

Comparative Study of Pair Trading Techniques in Pakistan’s Financial and Non-Financial Sector

Purpose: This study attempts to empirically investigate the pair trading performance of financial and non-financial firms in Pakistan. Methodology: Daily data from 2008 to 2017 was collected for nine years. Cointegration and the distance approach were the two major analytical techniques used to evaluate the profitability of pair trading. The financial and non-financial sectors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange were used to build the pairs. Findings: Results showed that the top 5 pairs of portfolios exhibited the highest average excess returns of 0.0698, and Jensen's alpha is 0.0947 for the top 5 pairs. All pairs of firms showed significant and positive risk-adjusted performance. In the non-financial sector, the Top 10 pairs of portfolios had the highest average excess returns of 0.0789, and Jensen's alpha under the co-integration method for non-financial firms for all pairs 5, 10, 15, and 20 of the portfolios is also substantial and positive for risk-adjusted performance, with 0.0046, 0.0618, 0.0577, and 0.0493, respectively. Finally, pair trading under both techniques showed profitability. However, the co-integration technique exhibited better performance than the distance method. Conclusion: The study concluded that both pair trading techniques, particularly the co-integration technique, exhibited profitable pair trading performance that can assist investors and fund managers to earn positive returns on their investments regardless of market direction

Estimating Total Factor Productivity and Its Components: Evidence from Major Manufacturing Industries of Pakistan

Manufacturing sector of Pakistan accounts for 19.1 percent of GDP and is the second largest sector of the economy. It grew by 8.4 percent during 2007 as against 10 percent last year. In the manufacturing sector, large scale manufacturing (LSM), plays a vital role and accounts for approximately 70 percent of overall manufacturing [Economic Survey of Pakistan (2006-07)]. During 2006-07 relatively slower pace of expansion exhibits signs of moderation on accounts of higher capacity utilisation, difficulties in the textile sector and lower than expected scale of operations of oil refineries. A number of other factors have also contributed to the low pace of expansion in manufacturing including zero percent growth in raw cotton production which is a critical input for the textile industry, vegetable ghee and cooking oil which comprise about 5.5 percent of the LSM sector, showed uninspiring performance due to unparalleled rise in international palm and soybean oil prices. The performance of the automobile sector has been far less impressive this year as compared to previous five years due to a fall in domestic demand for cars on account of increasing auto financing rates. The higher imports of used cars in the beginning of fiscal year 2006-07 also affected the performance of domestic auto mobile sector

A systematic review of piezoelectric materials and energy harvesters for industrial applications

In the last three decades, smart materials have become popular. The piezoelectric materials have shown key characteristics for engineering applications, such as in sensors and actuators for industrial use. Because of their excellent mechanical-to-electrical and vice versa energy conversion properties, piezoelectric materials with high piezoelectric charge and voltage coefficient have been tested in renewable energy applications. The fundamental component of the energy harvester is the piezoelectric material, which, when subjected to mechanical vibrations or applied stress, induces the displaced ions in the material and results in a net electric charge due to the dipole moment of the unit cell. This phenomenon builds an electric potential across the material. In this review article, a detailed study focused on the piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEH’s) is reported. In addition, the fundamental idea about piezoelectric materials, along with their modeling for various applications, are detailed systematically. Then a summary of previous studies based on PEH’s other applications is listed, considering the technical aspects and methodologies. A discussion has been provided as a critical review of current challenges in this field. As a result, this review can provide a guideline for the scholars who want to use PEH’s for their research

A review of piezoelectric material-based structural control and health monitoring techniques for engineering structures: challenges and opportunities

With the breadth of applications and analysis performed over the last few decades, it would not be an exaggeration to call piezoelectric materials “the top of the crop” of smart materials. Piezoelectric materials have emerged as the most researched materials for practical applications among the numerous smart materials. They owe it to a few main reasons, including low cost, high bandwidth of service, availability in a variety of formats, and ease of handling and execution. Several authors have used piezoelectric materials as sensors and actuators to effectively control structural vibrations, noise, and active control, as well as for structural health monitoring, over the last three decades. These studies cover a wide range of engineering disciplines, from vast space systems to aerospace, automotive, civil, and biomedical engineering. Therefore, in this review, a study has been reported on piezoelectric materials and their advantages in engineering fields with fundamental modeling and applications. Next, the new approaches and hypotheses suggested by different scholars are also explored for control/repair methods and the structural health monitoring of engineering structures. Lastly, the challenges and opportunities has been discussed based on the exhaustive literature studies for future work. As a result, this review can serve as a guideline for the researchers who want to use piezoelectric materials for engineering structures

Front-end analysis to improve staff performance in an e-learning environment

The purpose of the study was to determine significant factors that may account for variations in the degree to which teachers use various instructional technologies in a particular educational setting. A Mager and Pipe Performance Analysis Model was used to explain the variations in the use of instructional technology among teachers in the setting.Master of Arts (Instructional Design & Technology