Forest Management

This study analyses the institutional set-up of forest management in Pakistan, focusing on the North West Frontier Province, which houses 40 percent of the total forestlands. These areas have faced significant deforestation in the past. It is feared that if nothing is done to check this process, these forests will soon disappear. The study argues for the Property Rights School of thought that the roots of environmental problems are to be traced to inadequate and ill-defined property institutions. The study develops a normative criterion, describing the conditions that are essential for optimal utilisation and conservation of a resource, to be used in assessing the present situation. The analysis indicates that there are problems in the ownership structure, in the enforcement of property rules, as well as in the management system. It is concluded that the present institutional set-up is inappropriate to achieve the objective of forest conservation, and changes in this set-up are suggested. The study puts forward ‘collective management’ as an alternative institutional set-up.Forests, Institutions, Property Rights

On Measuring the Complexity of Urban Living

This paper explores the concept of city ranking as a way to measure dynamics and complexities of urban life. These rankings have various dimensions and uses. Both the context in which these rankings are done, and their nature has changed considerably overtime. These rankings are also afflicted with many methodological and measurement problems. A review of major city rankings and related literature is carried out to suggest a framework for measuring Pakistani cities.Quality of Life, Cities, Urbanization

An Anatomy of State Failures in The Forest Management in Pakistan

Deforestation remains one of the most intractable environmental problems of today. Pakistan also faces serious problem of depletion of its forest reserves.The general perception among planners is that over population is the primary culprit behind forest degradation. Moreover, people living close to forestlands, and using it for their needs, show an imprudent behaviour towards these forests and use it in an unsustainable manner. So there is tendency among the policy makers to find ways of keeping people away from this resource, and to strengthen government’s hold over it. This is a rather simplistic conception of the issue since most of the forests in Pakistan are state owned/managed, and responsibility for the protection/conservation of these forests rests with the state, therefore, any inquiry into the causes of forest degradation in Pakistan must analyse the state’s role in it. Putting the entire burden of deforestation on ‘other factors’ shifts attention away from more important causes (namely, failure of government to manage forests), and leads to wrong policy conclusions. This study intends to focus attention on this important factor behind deforestation - the role of state in forest degradation in Pakistan.State Failures, Deforestation

CONTEXTUALIZING LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This paper explores the prospects of success of ‘Local Economic Development’ (LED) for the less developed countries. The concept had much success in the context of the developed world. The less developed countries, however, present a scenario where power and social structures present a challenging task for LED to be effective.Local Development, Decentralization

Rule of Law, Legal Development and Economic Growth: Perspectives for Pakistan

Rule of Law and strong legal systems are considered a pre-condition for sustained development. Their relative weakness in the under-developed world is considered as the main obstacle to growth. Strengthening Rule of Law and legal systems has, therefore, become a standard advice from the developing community. Pakistan, too, has witnessed a surge in demand for Rule of Law in recent years. Capitalizing on this domestically garnered mandate, this paper reviews the legal obstacles to economic growth in Pakistan. It finds significant impediments for growth and market development due to legal shortcomings in the case of Pakistan.Rule of Law, Legal Development, Economic Growth, Pakistan

Myths and Realities of Long-run Development: A Look at Deeper Determinants

It has long been realised that factor accumulation and technological development are only proximate causes of economic development, and the focus has now shifted to investigating the deeper determinants of economic growth. Two such forces are highlighted in the literature: institutions and geography. However, it remains controversial as to which of these two is the more important. The institutions school assigns primal importance to institutions, whereas the geography school considers geographical factors as the primary determinant of the economic performance of countries. This paper reviews the debate surrounding these deeper determinants of economic performance. It reviews the work of these two schools of thought and their interpretation of the long-run development. The paper then examines the evidence provided by the respective schools in favour of their hypotheses. It concludes in favour of the Institutions hypothesis as the Geography school does not provide a consistent story of long-run development.Institutions, Geography, Long-run Development, Deeper Determinants of Growth

Disease, Institutions and Underdevelopment

What explains poverty of Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia? One view holds the disease environment of these regions as the primary culprit. Others see it as a typical symptom of growth retarding institutions. We test validity of these competing assertions for a cross section of countries. Our results indicate that institutions are the prime determinant of economic performance of countries. Disease does not play a significant role in determining outcomes. On the contrary, we find support for the indirect effect of disease via institutions, as asserted by the 'institutions school'. Interestingly, the 'institutions school' contention about geography having no direct effect on income is also not validated. Our results show that being land locked can pose significant disadvantage for a country. Endowment of hydrocarbon, however, is beneficial for economic outcomes.Economic Performance, Institutions, Disease.

On Measuring the Complexity of Urban Living

This paper explores the concept of city ranking as a way to measure the dynamics and complexities of urban life. These rankings have various dimensions and uses. Both the context in which these rankings are done and their nature have changed considerably over time. These rankings face many methodological and measurement problems. A review of major city rankings and the related literature is carried out to suggest a framework for the ranking of Pakistani cities.Quality of Life, Cities, Urbanisation

REVISITING COMMONS – ARE COMMON PROPERTY REGIMES IRRATIONAL?

This paper revisits the debate about communal management of natural resources and brings together various issues confronting it. Much of the criticism against common property regimes stems from an incorrect modeling of a common property situation, and misunderstandings about the terms and their wrong usage. Models of collective action (Hardin’s tragedy of the Commons, Olson’s Logic of Collective Action, and the Prisoner’s Dilemma) that are used as critique against common property regimes are not based on an accurate depiction of reality, and many of their assumptions are untrue. The purpose is to drive home the point that common property regimes are not inherently inferior types of regimes, and causes of success, and of failures, of these regimes lie elsewhere. Secondly, both public [and also private] management of natural resources has not had universal success. It is time to think out of the usual ‘either public or private’ dichotomy. Combining elements of both public and communal management in a pragmatic way is necessary. It is time to give co-management a serious thought!Natural Resource Management, Property Institutions

On Measuring the Complexity of Urban Living

This paper explores the concept of city ranking as a way to measure the dynamics and complexities of urban life. These rankings have various dimensions and uses. Both the context in which these rankings are done and their nature have changed considerably over time. These rankings face many methodological and measurement problems. A review of major city rankings and the related literature is carried out to suggest a framework for the ranking of Pakistani cities.Quality of Life, Cities, Urbanisation