SochBichar

SochBichar

By Nadeem HaqueScienceSocial SciencesGovernment
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SochBichar episodes

  • Crafty Oligarchs, Savvy Voters: Democracy Under Inequality in Rural Pakistan

    Moderator:

    Dr. Nadeem ul Haque, VC PIDE

     

    Speaker: 

    Dr. Shandana Khan Mohmand, Book Author

     

    About the Author:

    Her work in this area focuses on questions of representation, accountability, and responsiveness, and takes a political economy approach to the analysis of local government and service provision in the Western Balkans, South Asia, and Africa.

     

     

    1 hr 58 min
  • Talk on "The Narrow Corridor: How Nations Struggle for Liberty"

    Wednesday, January 13, 2020 at 8:00 PM (PST)

    Moderator: Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC, PIDE)

    Speaker: Prof. James A. Robinson

     

    By the authors of the international bestseller Why Nations Fail, based on decades of research, this powerful new big-picture framework explains how some countries develop towards and provide liberty while others fall to despotism, anarchy or asphyxiating norms - and explains how liberty can thrive despite new threats.
     

     

     

     

    1 hr 33 min
  • Breaking Out of Poverty Trap, Nobel Laureate Prof. Abhijeet Banerjee

    Tuesday, January 12, 2020 at 7:00 PM (PST)

    Moderator: Dr. Nadeem ul Haque, VC PIDE

    Speaker: Prof. Abhijit V. Banerjee

     

    About Speaker:

    Professor Banerjee is the recipient of the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, awarded jointly with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty." Banerjee is a past president of the Bureau for the Research in the Economic Analysis of Development, a Research Associate of the NBER, a CEPR research fellow, International Research Fellow of the Kiel Institute, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society and has been a Guggenheim Fellow and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. Professor Banerjee received the Infosys Prize 2009 in Social Sciences and Economics. In 2011, he was named one of Foreign Policy magazine's top 100 global thinkers. His areas of research are development economics and economic theory. Banerjee is a member of J-PAL's Executive Committee and previously served as co-chair of J-PAL’s Education Sector.

    58 min
  • Talk on "The FEAST Framework for Behavior Change"

    Monday, January 11, 2020 at 7:00 PM (PST)

    Moderator: Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC. PIDE)

    Speaker: Prof. Cass R. Sunstein

    About Speaker: 

    Cass R. Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioral Insights Team in the United Kingdom.

     

     

    1 hr 3 min
  • Grand National (Intellectual) Dialogue (For Reform) in Pakistan, Day-5, 29-12-2020

    Moderator: Dr Nadeem ul Haq (VC. PIDE)

    Panelists/Speakers

    Zarar Khuhro (Senior Journalist and Hots of Zara Hut Kay)
    Amer Zafar Durrani (President, Reenergia)
    Zaigham Khan (Executive Director, Civic Action Resources)
    Omar Quraishi (Journalist and CEO, Positive Media Communications)
    Usman Raza Jolaha (Founder/President, Volunteer Force Pakistan)

     

    There is talk of a Grand National Dialog in Pakistan. In the past, such initiatives have led to APCs that have mainly tried to strengthen political cartels. Reform for changing the way we do business of politics and policy is conveniently never in the agenda.

    We at PIDE are proposing a Grand National (intellectual) dialog on reform to parallel and possibly lead the possible GND with ideas.

    PIDE questions to our intellectuals will be:


    1. Is democracy working as it should?
    2. Can the system be improved through reform? What would you suggest!
    3. Can the clash of institutions be avoided through reform?
    4.Parliament virtually becomes irrelevant after elections! Attendance rates are low and legislative efforts very limited. Debates on bills infrequent. Even the budget is not debated adequately. Competence of parliamentarians to take on complex legislative issues too remains in question.
    5. Democrats don’t want local government. Can the constitution be democratic w/o local government? MNAs, MPAs are running after development funds and involved in local admin.
    6.The executive thrives in extreme centralization. All regulatory agencies PSEs universities are not granted autonomy.
    7.Judiciary often wants to play the role of the executive while commercial and other disputes wait for decades to be sorted out. Precedents clearly are not adhered to and the speed of justice is very slow.
    8. 1 election every 5 years enables a government to establish absolute rule leaving opposition and others frantic for a role.
    9. Dynastic politics or the control of the constituencies by families has almost developed “rotten boroughs”. What sort of electoral reform can bring in more electoral competition?

    There are many issues for intellectuals to take up. Theses should be written on these issues to light our way to a better system.

    The usual binaries— civil military and presidential vs parliamentary- prevent the focus from being placed on improving our current system. We would like to spotlight the failings of our current system that derives from colonialism. Can we reform it?

     

    2 hr 17 min
  • Grand National (Intellectual) Dialogue (For Reform) in Pakistan, Day-4, 28-12-2020

    Monday, December 28, 2020 at 07:00 PM (PST)

    Moderator: Dr Nadeem ul Haq (VC. PIDE)

    Panelists/Speakers

    Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob (President PILDAT)
    Dr. Adnan Rasool (Assistant Professor Political Science- University of Tennessee-Martin )
    Ms. Jamila Aslam (Advocate Supreme Court) ,

    Ms. Nasim Zehra (Journalist)

     

    There is talk of a Grand National Dialog in Pakistan. In the past, such initiatives have led to APCs that have mainly tried to strengthen political cartels. Reform for changing the way we do business of politics and policy is conveniently never in the agenda.

    We at PIDE are proposing a Grand National (intellectual) dialog on reform to parallel and possibly lead the possible GND with ideas.

    PIDE questions to our intellectuals will be:


    1. Is democracy working as it should?
    2. Can the system be improved through reform? What would you suggest!
    3. Can the clash of institutions be avoided through reform?
    4.Parliament virtually becomes irrelevant after elections! Attendance rates are low and legislative efforts very limited. Debates on bills infrequent. Even the budget is not debated adequately. Competence of parliamentarians to take on complex legislative issues too remains in question.
    5. Democrats don’t want local government. Can the constitution be democratic w/o local government? MNAs, MPAs are running after development funds and involved in local admin.
    6.The executive thrives in extreme centralization. All regulatory agencies PSEs universities are not granted autonomy.
    7.Judiciary often wants to play the role of the executive while commercial and other disputes wait for decades to be sorted out. Precedents clearly are not adhered to and the speed of justice is very slow.
    8. 1 election every 5 years enables a government to establish absolute rule leaving opposition and others frantic for a role.
    9. Dynastic politics or the control of the constituencies by families has almost developed “rotten boroughs”. What sort of electoral reform can bring in more electoral competition?

    There are many issues for intellectuals to take up. Theses should be written on these issues to light our way to a better system.

    The usual binaries— civil military and presidential vs parliamentary- prevent the focus from being placed on improving our current system. We would like to spotlight the failings of our current system that derives from colonialism. Can we reform it?

    2 hr 8 min
  • Grand National (Intellectual) Dialogue (For Reform) in Pakistan, Day-3, 27-12-2020

    Moderator: Dr Nadeem ul Haq (VC. PIDE)


    Panelists/Speakers 
    Mr. Asad Rahim (Adjunct Faculty - School of Law )
    Mr. Raza Rumi (Policy Analyst)
    Ms. Arifa Noor (Journalist), Mr.Farooq Tirmizi (Author-Profit)

    Mr. Moeed Pirzada (Senior Journalist, Analyst)

    Mr. Farooq Tirmzi (Author - Profit)

     

     

    Description:

    We at PIDE are proposing a Grand National (intellectual) dialog on reform to parallel and possibly lead the possible GND with ideas.

    There is talk of a Grand National Dialog in Pakistan. In the past, such initiatives have led to APCs that have mainly tried to strengthen political cartels. Reform for changing the way we do business of politics and policy is conveniently never in the agenda.

    PIDE questions to our intellectuals will be:


    1. Is democracy working as it should?
    2. Can the system be improved through reform? What would you suggest!
    3. Can the clash of institutions be avoided through reform?
    4.Parliament virtually becomes irrelevant after elections! Attendance rates are low and legislative efforts very limited. Debates on bills infrequent. Even the budget is not debated adequately. Competence of parliamentarians to take on complex legislative issues too remains in question.
    5. Democrats don’t want local government. Can the constitution be democratic w/o local government? MNAs, MPAs are running after development funds and involved in local admin.
    6.The executive thrives in extreme centralization. All regulatory agencies PSEs universities are not granted autonomy.
    7.Judiciary often wants to play the role of the executive while commercial and other disputes wait for decades to be sorted out. Precedents clearly are not adhered to and the speed of justice is very slow.
    8. 1 election every 5 years enables a government to establish absolute rule leaving opposition and others frantic for a role.
    9. Dynastic politics or the control of the constituencies by families has almost developed “rotten boroughs”. What sort of electoral reform can bring in more electoral competition?

    There are many issues for intellectuals to take up. Theses should be written on these issues to light our way to a better system.

    The usual binaries— civil military and presidential vs parliamentary- prevent the focus from being placed on improving our current system. We would like to spotlight the failings of our current system that derives from colonialism. Can we reform it?

    1 hr 53 min
  • Grand National (Intellectual) Dialogue (For Reform) in Pakistan, Day-2

    Moderator: Dr Nadeem ul Haq (VC. PIDE)

    Panelists/Speakers 

    Ms. Najma Pirzada (Managing Editor-Global Village Space Publications )
    Mr. Fahd Hussain (Journalist/Resident Editor Dawn )
    Dr.Erum Haider (Assistant Professor Political Science and Environmental Studies College of Wooster OH)
    Ms. Huzaima Bukhari (Advocate High Court and Visiting Faculty at LUMS)

     

    Description: 

    There is talk of a Grand National Dialog in Pakistan. In the past, such initiatives have led to APCs that have mainly tried to strengthen political cartels. Reform for changing the way we do business of politics and policy is conveniently never in the agenda.

    We at PIDE are proposing a Grand National (intellectual) dialog on reform to parallel and possibly lead the possible GND with ideas.

    PIDE questions to our intellectuals will be:


    1. Is democracy working as it should?
    2. Can the system be improved through reform? What would you suggest!
    3. Can the clash of institutions be avoided through reform?
    4.Parliament virtually becomes irrelevant after elections! Attendance rates are low and legislative efforts very limited. Debates on bills infrequent. Even the budget is not debated adequately. Competence of parliamentarians to take on complex legislative issues too remains in question.
    5. Democrats don’t want local government. Can the constitution be democratic w/o local government? MNAs, MPAs are running after development funds and involved in local admin.
    6.The executive thrives in extreme centralization. All regulatory agencies PSEs universities are not granted autonomy.
    7.Judiciary often wants to play the role of the executive while commercial and other disputes wait for decades to be sorted out. Precedents clearly are not adhered to and the speed of justice is very slow.
    8. 1 election every 5 years enables a government to establish absolute rule leaving opposition and others frantic for a role.
    9. Dynastic politics or the control of the constituencies by families has almost developed “rotten boroughs”. What sort of electoral reform can bring in more electoral competition?

    There are many issues for intellectuals to take up. Theses should be written on these issues to light our way to a better system.

    The usual binaries— civil military and presidential vs parliamentary- prevent the focus from being placed on improving our current system. We would like to spotlight the failings of our current system that derives from colonialism. Can we reform it?

    1 hr 58 min
  • Grand National (Intellectual) Dialogue (For Reform) in Pakistan, Day-1

    Moderator: Dr Nadeem ul Haq (VC. PIDE)

    Panelists/Speakers:

    Mosharraf Zaidi (Senior Fellow-Tabadlab)
    Osama Siddique (Associate Fellow at IDEAS and the Executive Director of Law & Policy Research Network (LPRN))
    Amber Darr (Barrister, Advocate Supreme Court, Senior Research Fellow-UCL, Lecturer Coventry Law School)
    Usman Raza Jolaha, Founder/President, Volunteer Force Pakistan

     

    There is talk of a Grand National Dialog in Pakistan. In the past, such initiatives have led to APCs that have mainly tried to strengthen political cartels. Reform for changing the way we do business of politics and policy is conveniently never in the agenda.

    We at PIDE are proposing a Grand National (intellectual) dialog on reform to parallel and possibly lead the possible GND with ideas.

    PIDE questions to our intellectuals will be:


    1. Is democracy working as it should?
    2. Can the system be improved through reform? What would you suggest!
    3. Can the clash of institutions be avoided through reform?
    4.Parliament virtually becomes irrelevant after elections! Attendance rates are low and legislative efforts very limited. Debates on bills infrequent. Even the budget is not debated adequately. Competence of parliamentarians to take on complex legislative issues too remains in question.
    5. Democrats don’t want local government. Can the constitution be democratic w/o local government? MNAs, MPAs are running after development funds and involved in local admin.
    6.The executive thrives in extreme centralization. All regulatory agencies PSEs universities are not granted autonomy.
    7.Judiciary often wants to play the role of the executive while commercial and other disputes wait for decades to be sorted out. Precedents clearly are not adhered to and the speed of justice is very slow.
    8. 1 election every 5 years enables a government to establish absolute rule leaving opposition and others frantic for a role.
    9. Dynastic politics or the control of the constituencies by families has almost developed “rotten boroughs”. What sort of electoral reform can bring in more electoral competition?

    There are many issues for intellectuals to take up. Theses should be written on these issues to light our way to a better system.

    The usual binaries— civil military and presidential vs parliamentary- prevent the focus from being placed on improving our current system. We would like to spotlight the failings of our current system that derives from colonialism. Can we reform it?

     

    2 hr 19 min
  • Exchange rate management of Pakistan: Past, Present and Future

    Key Note Speaker: Riaz Riazuddin

    Moderator: Dr. Nadeem ul Haque

    Knowledge Brief Presenters: Abdul Jalil and Hafsa Hina

     

    Riaz Riazuddin is a former Deputy Governor of State Bank of Pakistan. He served as Acting Governor very briefly in 2017. He also worked as Chief Economic Adviser and Director of Research Department of SBP. He is the founding editor of the SBP Working Paper Series. He also co-authored the Financial Sector Assessment Reports of SBP.

    Earlier, he has served as an Assistant Professor/Research Economist at the Applied Economics Research Centre, University of Karachi.
    He is currently a Member of the Audit Oversight Board, and a Senior Partner at Inculcate – a small IT venture that recently introduced Math Practice Worksheets for the iOS platform.

    The external sector plays a vital role in the long-run pattern of any country's macro economy-especially in developing countries. The absence of an external sector can put developing countries in the vicious circle of developing status. While the presence of it advocates for the assessment, “how good we are doing compared to the competing economies”. The exchange rate parity is considered as a reflection of this relative performance. Therefore, the understanding of history and exchange rate management is very vital. Therefore, the discussion on the overvalued exchange rate and the undervalued exchange rate is one of the heated topics in Asia countries.

    In this backdrop, this webinar will be an attempt to serve three essential objectives:
    First, a brief history of exchange rate management in Pakistan
    Second, to assess the exchange rate performance and its impact on the economic activities of Pakistan.
    Third, what is the way forward keeping the present scenario of the economy of Pakistan in view.

    1 hr 52 min

About SochBichar

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Conversations on issues of development policy in Pakistan and the rest of South Asia. Political economy subjects that are seldom featured in the media will be taken up.