SochBichar

Concept Note

Import tariffs have long been used for protecting an economy's domestic industries from external competition. More recently, the emergence of global value chains as an integration platform into the global marketplace has stressed the importance of reducing import tariffs on parts and components that cross international borders several times, before they get assembled into a final good. A stream of literature has emerged on how reducing tariffs on intermediates and raw materials can allow firms to leverage technologies embedded in foreign products as an means of productivity growth.

Yet, tariffs on final goods still matter. When countries choose to decrease import tariffs on raw materials and intermediates but keep high tariffs on final goods (a tariff structure known as ‘cascading’), then firms’ profit margins increase, as their costs of production fall, but the price at which they sell their output remains higher than in international markets by virtue of the tariff on the final good. This effective protection that results from cascading has another unintended consequence: it makes exporting relatively less profitable than selling domestically. Essentially, these high tariffs on final goods act as an implicit tax on exports. Aside from increasing the price that consumers pay for these final goods.

Despite pursuing an export promotion strategy, Pakistan has a marked cascading structure in tariffs. And while average import duties have mildly declined recently, the cascading has not. At the same time, the economy has increasingly become more inward looking, with export to GDP ratio falling from 16 percent in 1999 to 10 percent in 2019.

What is more costly for the economy? The anti-export or the anti-consumer bias these tariffs introduce? This webinar will discuss the tariff structure of Pakistan, and its effects on export orientation of the economy and on the cost of consumers consumption bundles.

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Gonzalo Varela, Senior Economist, World Bank

Panelists

Mr. Ahmed Fasih, Regional Trade & Policy Advisor, PREIA, DIA

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the state of political institutions, the military establishment and political parties in Pakistan. It provides a nuanced understanding of the practices of disenfranchisement by theocratic governments in the country which has relegated the people to the margins of their society.

The volume provides an in-depth account of the political history of Pakistan focusing not only on national politics and foreign policy but also on their congruence with sub-national systems of governance, the criminal justice system, bureaucracy, the electoral system and the police. It discusses challenging issues plaguing the country such as the continued dominance of the military, lagging economic development, lack of accountability within political institutions, sectarianism and terrorism. The author dissects and critically examines Pakistan’s hegemonic politics and underlines the need for a new social contract based on the principles of inclusiveness and equality.

The volume offers fresh perspectives on the multifaceted problems in Pakistan’s politics. It will be of great interest to policy practitioners and to academics and students of politics, law and governance, sociology, international relations, comparative politics, Pakistan studies and South Asia studies.

About Author:

Dr. Azhar Hassan Nadeem retired as Inspector General Police of Punjab, Pakistan, in 2008 and served as Member of the Punjab Public Service Commission from May 2008 to 2011. He has been delivering lectures from time to time in various universities and training institutions at home and abroad. He is currently serving as Senior Fellow at the Lahore School of Economics. He has a Masters of Economic and Social Studies from the University of Wales, Cardiff, UK, and a Doctorate in Economics from the University of the Punjab in 1998. Apart from policing and administrative experience, he is an economist and a criminologist who has authored a number of books, including Pakistan: The Political Economy of Lawlessness (2002). His book titled The Punjab Police in a Comparative Perspective (1989) was awarded by the National Book Council of Pakistan and received the Allama Iqbal Award by the Government of Punjab.

Event Flyer

ife on streets is not easy. Ask any street vendor on the roads, markets, parks and other public spaces in Islamabad. Given option of a regular job, majority of street vendors will quit their vocation. Unfortunately, these job offerings are not expected to arrive soon. And even, miraculously jobs are created for many, then more from poorer segments will be entering in the public space to fill the vending spots vacated by others. It is an avalanche of humanity that is seeping in through any space for making their livelihood. They work through the system by bribing, cajoling or guiling in their existential struggle. It is easy to bemoan the congestion, unhygienic and slyness, often attributed to the vendors on the streets, but difficult to wish them away in the fifth most populous low-income country.  

PIDE has been raising the voice for the inclusion of the poor. And street vendors remain a potent manifestation of these excluded segments. PIDE has rolled up its sleeves by teaming up with Ehsaas, the premier poverty alleviation initiative in the country. Purpose is to establish an evidence-based support for the government to streamline governance and livelihood of street vendors in Pakistan. It is also coordinating with Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) for collaborative regulation of Street Vendors. And it has also ventured in action through a pilot project, whereby it has conducted the first street vendors’ survey in Islamabad on their profile development. It is resulting in a more participatory approach for a strive to resolve this intractable issue.

This webinar is mean to present the voice from the ground of both regulators and regulatees of local street economy.

1. Sania Nishtar; Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation

Moderator: Dr. Nadeem-ul-Haque, Vice Chancellor, PIDE

1. Sania Nishtar; Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation

Panelist

Dr. Durr-e-Nayab

Moderator: Dr. Nadeem-ul-Haque, Vice Chancellor, PIDE