Lahore Journal of Economics
March 18, 2025
Call for Papers
The Lahore Journal of Economics (LJE) invites researchers, academics, policymakers, and analysts to submit original theoretical and empirical papers covering a broad range of topics in the social sciences.
Since its inception in 1996, LJE has served as a leading platform for disseminating high-quality research, fostering scholarly dialogue on economic and social issues, particularly in the context of emerging markets. The journal publishes cutting-edge research across various disciplines, including but not limited to Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy, Political Economy, Behavioral Economics, Finance, and Sustainable Development.
Read more »Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Lahore School, Publications, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 3/18/2025 09:01:00 AM,
Lahore Journal of Economics
April 27, 2023
The Lahore Journal of Economics, Volume 27, Issue 1, Jan - June 2022 is now available online here. This issue comprises the following articles:
Differential Impact of Taxation on Food Items by Iffat Ara and Qazi Masood Ahmed
A Spatial Agglomeration Analysis of Firm Productivity: A Case of the Textile Sector of Pakistan Muhammad Zeeshan Younas
Forecasting the GDP Growth in Pakistan: The Role of Consumer Confidence by Syed Ateeb Akhter Shah, Fatima Kaneez, and Arshad Riffat
Pre and Post Evaluation of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement by Mazhar Hussain and Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah
Cost Stickiness, Firm’s Dividend Payouts, and Family Ownership by Ali Amin, Rizwan Ali, and Ramiz ur Rehman
Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Lahore School, Publications, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/27/2023 04:17:00 PM,
Lahore Journal of Economics
July 20, 2018
The Lahore Journal of Economics, Volume 23-1, January-June, 2018, is now available online. The full-text articles are available here.
This issue comprises of the following articles:
Modified Variance Ratio Test for Autocorrelation in the Presence of Heteroskedasticity
Sohail Chand and Nuzhat Aftab
Abstract
Given that autocorrelation tests do not perform well in the presence of heteroskedasticity and in variance-break cases, we present three modified weighted variance ratio tests of autocorrelation. The numerical results show that the proposed tests perform better for small samples. They provide a better approximation of asymptotic distributions and are more powerful when the lag length is mis-specified. The study also applies these tests to data on the daily returns of two companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Read more »Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Lahore School, Publications, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 7/20/2018 02:10:00 PM,
Lahore Journal of Economics
October 18, 2017
The latest issue of the Lahore Journal of Economics (Volume 22-SE, September 2017) is available now online.
This issue contains the Papers and Proceedings from the Lahore School’s Thirteenth International Conference on the Management of the Pakistan Economy. The theme of this year’s conference was “Igniting Technology Led Growth in Pakistan: Role of Monetary, Fiscal and Investment Policies.”
The issue contains articles on a wide range of topics:
Chaudhry, Jamil, and Chaudhry focus on the Pak-China Free Trade Agreement 2006/07 and find that exports and imports have both risen but that firm level productivity and value-added have fallen, both in the sectors made more vulnerable (by reductions in Pakistan’s tariff rates) as well as in the sectors that China has given greater access (by reductions in China’s tariffs).
Uppal looks at the sustainability of Pakistan’s external debut by focusing on yields on the country’s Eurobonds and the spreads on the Credit Default Swaps (CDS) traded in the international markets and concludes that decreases in bond yields and CDS spreads may signal that the country’s external debt is currently at sustainable levels.
Iqbal, Din, and Ghani look at the relationship between the fiscal deficit and economic growth in the case of Pakistan, and find that the latter is compromised when the deficit exceeds a threshold of about 5.6 percent.
Hamid and Mir analyze the extent of exchange rate overvaluation in Pakistan and focus on how prior to March 2013, the policy target of exchange rate management was the stability of the real effective exchange rate while the current government’s policy target has been the stability of the nominal exchange rate against the US dollar.
Mangla and Hyder investigate the monetary policy effectiveness of Pakistan and they find that monetary policy is quite effective in stabilizing consumer prices and the real exchange rate in the economy.
Khalid analyzes how financial deepening could lead to changes in the behavior of economic agents and then presents empirical evidence on the link between financial and trade integration and growth using data from a sample of countries from the Asia Pacific region.
Rasiah discusses how capital accumulation and macroeconomic management were critical in quickening economic growth in East Asia, and analyzes how investment regimes, sources of finance, technological upgrading and policy frameworks explain economic growth in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea and Thailand.
McCartney looks at the case of Bangladesh as an example of a country that is at risk of falling into the “middle income trap” and argues that structural change is necessary for sustained growth as opposed to productivity, competitiveness and technological change.
Ejaz and Hyder examine the vulnerability of demographic groups in Pakistan to business cycle fluctuations and find that older and younger are more vulnerable than middle-aged workers, women and employers also tend to be more vulnerable and that more education is not always protective against business cycle fluctuations.
Hussain and Said look at the role of income diversification strategies amongst rural households in Pakistan in raising living standards and they find that households that diversify have higher income and spending as compared to households that specialize in a single occupation, and that households with diversified occupations also tend to plant a larger number of crop types.
Rizvi, Naqvi, and Tanveer study the various models of mobile banking in Pakistan and then touch upon the ecosystem that needs to be built in Pakistan to utilize the full potential of mobile technology.
These articles as well as all the articles from older issues of the Lahore Journal of Economics are available here.
Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Lahore School, Publications, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 10/18/2017 11:50:00 AM,
Lahore Journal of Economics
July 04, 2017
The latest issue of the top ranked Lahore Journal of Economics (Volume 22-1, January-June, 2017, ) is now available online.
This issue covers following topics:
The Statistical Value of Injury Risk in Pakistan’s Construction and Manufacturing Sectors
Ahmad Mujtaba Khan and Asma Hyder
Abstract
The authors look at injury risk against occupation and industry, using data from the Labor Force Survey for 2013/14. They focus on five blue-collar occupations in two industries (construction and manufacturing), which tend to account for the highest number of injuries. The authors find that the statistical value of injury in these occupations is too small to reflect the wage premium that workers should be paid for risky jobs.
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posted by S A J Shirazi @ 7/04/2017 10:33:00 AM,
Lahore Journal of Economics
January 26, 2017
We are pleased to announce the launch of the latest issue of the Lahore Journal of Economics. This issue contains the following papers that are on the cutting edge of economic research in Pakistan:
Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Publications, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 1/26/2017 10:38:00 AM,
Special Edition of the Lahore Journal of Economics Launched
November 08, 2016
This year’s issue of the Lahore Journal of Economics containing the papers and proceedings of the Lahore School’s March 2016 conference on “Technology, entrepreneurship and productivity growth: Where Pakistan stands and where it must go” has been launched.
The conference brought together leading scientists, economists, industry-level specialists, business leaders and policymakers both from within Pakistan and abroad to discuss the key role of innovation and productivity growth at both the macro and the firm level.
You can access the articles here:
We hope that you find the articles in the Special Edition interesting and we look forward to your feedback.
Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Publications, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 11/08/2016 10:14:00 AM,
Lahore Journal of Economics
July 01, 2016
The latest issue of the top ranked Lahore Journal of Economics (Volume 21-1, January-June, 2016) is now available online.
This issue covers a wide range of topics:
- Husnain, Hassan and Lamarque compare covariance estimators used in portfolio optimization. Using data for 5 emerging market economies (India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand) the authors find no significant benefits to using more complex covariance estimators.
- Mumtaz, Smith and Ahmed estimate the aftermarket performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange. They find that IPOs generate abnormally high returns in the short run but underperform in the long run.
- Khan and Khan estimate the impact of remittances on school enrollment and education attained for Pakistani children. They find that remittance receiving households are more likely to enroll children in school and the impact is larger for girls than boys.
- Khan, Shah and Khan examine the behavioral aspects of electricity consumption by comparing energy consumption patterns in a sample of student hostels. They find that public sector hostels consume significantly higher electricity and that little attention is given to energy conservation by students and university administrators.
- Noreen and Ahmad look at the impact of financial sector reforms on the efficiency and productivity of Pakistan’s insurance sector. They find that the sector is generally inefficient, that large firms are relatively inefficient and that private sector firms tend to more efficient than public sector firms.
- Awais looks at the latest South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) revisions using the example of Bangladesh’s exports of readymade garments (RMG) to India. The author finds that despite Bangladesh’s strong comparative advantage and an apparently high level of trade complementarity between the two countries, Bangladesh exports to India have failed to increase. The author attributes this to a combination of Indian nontariff measures and domestic export incentives.
You can access it here
Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Publications, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 7/01/2016 04:54:00 PM,
Lahore Journal of Economics - Special Issue
October 22, 2015
The Special Issue of the Lahore Journal of Economics (September 2015) is now available online.
The Special Edition contains the Papers and Proceedings from the Eleventh Annual Conference on the Management of the Pakistan Economy. The topic of the conference was “Pakistan as a Regional Manufacturing Hub – Prospects and Challenges,” and the objective of the conference organizers was to provide academics and policy makers with new ideas on growth strategies in the context of a changing global environment.
The conference was held on the 25th and 26th of March, 2015 and looked at both the macroeconomic and the microeconomic issues that have historically hampered the development of Pakistan’s manufacturing sector as well as the prospects for future growth in the sector. The Lahore School gathered world-class academics, policy makers, practitioners and members of the business community to discuss these issues and lay the groundwork for a coherent industrial strategy. The speakers presented on issues related to industrial policy, the strengths and weaknesses of the Pakistani manufacturing sector and the macroeconomic conditions that have helped and hindered industrial growth in Pakistan over the last few decades.
Though the conference topic was complex, some important themes emerged from the presentations and discussions:
First, there is a growing recognition amongst academics and the business community that a coherent industrial policy for Pakistan is required and this must be urgently undertaken by the government.
Second, there is a glaring vacuum when it comes to any viable financing mechanisms for industries, which needs to be immediately addressed. On the urging of the Western financial institutions, all the development finance institutions in Pakistan were dissolved and the present financial sector is unwilling and unable to fill this gap.
Third, policy makers and academics must interact with industries and firms at a micro-level to begin understanding the key constraints to growth they face; it is no longer sufficient to just blame energy shortages and lack of government policy for faltering manufacturing sector growth.
Finally, the only way the manufacturing sector can practically grow is if it begins to focus on technology upgradation, innovation and productivity improvement. This has to be done by industry, academia, and government joining hands and incorporating these priorities into its industrial policy.
The Special Edition of the Lahore Journal of Economics is available online here
Labels: Eleventh Annual Conference, Lahore Journal of Economics, Management of Pakistan Economy, Publications
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 10/22/2015 04:19:00 PM,
Lahore Journal of Economics (January - June 2015)
July 29, 2015
In the first article published in this issue of the Lahore Journal of Economics, titled “Private School Participation in Pakistan, Quynh T. Nguyen and Dhushyanth Raju of the World Bank look at the extent and nature of private school participation at the primary and secondary levels in Pakistan. The authors find that private school students tend to come from urban, wealthier, and better-educated households than government school students. They also find that the characteristics of private school students relative to their government school peers and the former’s composition differ in important ways across Pakistan’s four provinces. Also, private school participation among children varies largely from one household to another rather than within households, and to a greater extent than government school participation. Private schooling is spatially concentrated, with a few districts (situated mainly in northern Punjab) accounting for most private school students. The spatial distributions of private school supply and participation are strongly correlated. In the 2000s, private school participation rates grew in Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and across socioeconomic subgroups, contributing in particular to the growth in overall school participation rates for boys, urban children, and rich children. Nevertheless, the composition of private school students has become more equitable, driven mainly by Punjab, where the shares of private school students from rural and nonrich households have risen.
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posted by S A J Shirazi @ 7/29/2015 09:56:00 AM,
Should Pakistan Liberalize Trade With India Against the Backdrop of the FTA with China? A Comparative Advantage Analysis for the Manufacturing Sector
May 19, 2015
In an extremely important and relevant article published in the Lahore Journal of Economics, Naheed Memon, Faiza Rehman and Fazal Rabbi looked at the implications of trade liberalization with China and India. The article was titled, “Should Pakistan Liberalize Trade With India Against the Backdrop of the FTA with China? A Comparative Advantage Analysis for the Manufacturing Sector,” and in the article the authors looked at the impact of the liberalized trade regime between Pakistan and China and the proposed liberalization in trade between Pakistan and India.
The authors investigated the benefits of trade liberalization between the two countries by studying the global competitiveness of Pakistan’s industrial sector from a policy perspective. To do this, the authors looked at construct a revealed comparative advantage index for manufacturing products (HS 2-digit level) for Pakistan, India, and China for the period 2003–12, and then identified the changing patterns of comparative advantage for Pakistan.
Read more »Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Manufacturing Exports, Pakistan-India Trade, Research, Revealed Comparative Advantage, Trade Liberalization
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 5/19/2015 10:22:00 AM,
The Political Economy of Industrial Policy: A Comparative Study of the Textiles Industry in Pakistan
May 18, 2015
In a fascinating article published in the Lahore Journal of Economics, Dr. Matthew McCartney (of Oxford University) performed a unique historical analysis of the Pakistani textile sector.
In the article entitled ‘The Political Economy of Industrial Policy: A Comparative Study of the Textiles Industry in Pakistan’, Dr. McCartney analyzed why the textiles industry in Pakistan has failed to fulfill its “historical mission,” whether judged in terms of promoting rapid and sustained economic growth, reducing poverty, or providing employment to young women and so promoting wider social transformation. Dr. McCartney makes a case for a particular and targeted form of industrial policy that would help the textiles sector learn and upgrade.
Read more »Labels: Bangladesh, Industrial Policy, Korea, Lahore Journal of Economics, Pakistan, Research, Technological Change, Textiles, Upgrading
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 5/18/2015 11:15:00 AM,
Pakistan’s Parallel Foreign Exchange Market
May 15, 2015
In a fascinating paper by Asma Khalid (from the State Bank of Pakistan) titled ‘Pakistan’s Parallel Foreign Exchange Market’ published by the Lahore Journal of Economics, we get a unique look at the structure of the parallel foreign exchange market in Pakistan.
The paper gives a comprehensive picture of the structure and evolution of this market in Pakistan. The author starts with a brief historical perspective, which flags the importance of workers’ remittances to the country and explains how the bulk of this inflow is transacted through the hundi/hawala network (informal money changers).
Read more »Labels: Foreign Exchange, Hawala, Hundi, Informal Economy, Lahore Journal of Economics, Lectures, Macro-Economy, Pakistan
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 5/15/2015 02:00:00 AM,
Exporters in Pakistan and Firms Who Do Not Export: What’s the Big Difference?
May 14, 2015
In a recent paper published in the Lahore Journal of Economics titled ‘Exporters in Pakistan and Firms Who Do Not Export: What’s the Big Difference?’ Dr. Theresa Chaudhry (of the Lahore School of Economics) and Muhammad Haseeb took a novel look at the critical issue of Pakistani exports.
The authors used two cross-sections of firm-level data — the Census of Manufacturing Industries (CMI) 2000/01 for Punjab and the World Bank Enterprise Survey data set (2006/07) for all Pakistan to look at the characteristics of exporting firms. The authors found similar levels of export market participation but very large shares of export sales in firm revenue for those who do, compared to the US sample. The authors also found, as do many other studies, that exporters exhibited significantly higher total factor productivity (TFP) and are larger in terms of employment than non-exporters. Considering the eight largest sectors (which comprise more than 80 percent of the CMI Punjab), with a few exceptions, exporters had higher labor productivity and offered higher compensation to workers, but used more capital per worker and more imported inputs.
Read more »Labels: Census of Manufacturing Industries, Export, Firm, Lahore Journal of Economics, Pakistan, Research, Revenue, Sales
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 5/14/2015 10:00:00 AM,
Pakistan’s Growth Spurts and Reversals: A Historical Perspective
May 13, 2015
In an insightful article published in the Lahore Journal of Economics by Dr. Rashid Amjad entitled, ‘Pakistan’s Growth Spurts and Reversals: A Historical Perspective, the author looks at the cyclical pattern of growth in Pakistan, Dr. Amjad takes a historical perspective to search for the major causes of Pakistan’s stop go growth cycles. Dr. Amjad comes to the conclusion that, to varying degrees, the foreign exchange constraint provides a major explanation for these cycles of irregular economic growth in the country, particularly since the 1990s.
The paper is available at the Lahore Journal of Economics website here (pdf)
Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 5/13/2015 02:02:00 PM,
The Need for a Coordinated Industrial Strategy to Boost Pakistani Exports: Lessons from Asia
May 12, 2015
In an interesting paper published by the Lahore Journal of Economics titled ‘The Need for a Coordinated Industrial Strategy to Boost Pakistani Exports: Lessons from Asia’, Dr. Azam Chaudhry and Gul Andaman of the Lahore School of Economics produced a historical map of Asian industrial policies and explained how they have led to growth in Asian countries. The authors focused on a group of Asian countries that have successfully increased exports and found a common industrial strategy. Several key factors emerged from their detailed mapping exercise:
First, countries that have managed to increase their exports focused on doing so in sectors in which they had expertise while slowly developing new export sectors at the same time.
Read more »First, countries that have managed to increase their exports focused on doing so in sectors in which they had expertise while slowly developing new export sectors at the same time.
Labels: East Asia, Industrial Policy, Lahore Journal of Economics, Pakistan, Publications, Quality Ladder, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 5/12/2015 02:20:00 PM,
Lahore Journal of Economics
October 29, 2014
The Special Edition of the Lahore Journal of Economics is now online. The Special Edition is a compilation of the papers presented at the Lahore School’s Tenth Annual Conference on the Management of the Pakistan Economy.
The key objective of the Lahore School’s Annual Conference is to help policy makers look at some of the critical issues that Pakistan needs to face if it is to achieve growth in the medium to long term and the theme of this year’s conference was ‘Pakistan in the Global Economy – Opportunities and Challenges’. What made the conference unique was that many of these issues have not been discussed and debated thoroughly before in the Pakistani context. Some of the highlights of the conference were Asma Khalid’s (from the State Bank of Pakistan) extremely insightful analysis of the parallel foreign exchange market in Pakistan (which has not been analyzed in depth before) as well as the call by many of the presenters for a well-formulated industrial policy in Pakistan.
Read more »Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 10/29/2014 12:40:00 PM,
MPhil in Environmental Science and Policy
September 03, 2014
Admission to MPhil in Environmental Science and Policy is open in Lahore School of Economics. Students with BSc in Environmental Science (CGPA 3.00 and above) may apply at the admission office in City Campus. It should be noted that MPhil in Environmental Science and Policy is a full scholarship programme.
Labels: Environment, Lahore Journal of Economics, Mphil, Programs
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 9/03/2014 10:52:00 AM,
The Lahore Journal of Economics
June 16, 2014
The Lahore Journal of Economics, Vol. 19 - 1, 2014) has been published. Contents include:
Determinants of School Choice: Evidence from Rural Punjab, Pakistan by Hamna Ahmed and Sahar Amjad Sheikh
The Impact of Exchange Rate Volatility on Trade: A Panel Study on Pakistan’s Trading Partners by Abdul Jalil Khan, Parvez Azim, and Shabib Haider Syed
Can Analysts Really Forecast? Evidence from the Karachi Stock Exchange by Haris Bin Jamil, Aisha Ghazi Aurakzai, and Muhammad Subayyal
Terms-of-Trade Volatility and Inflation in Pakistan by Kiran Ijaz, Muhammad Zakaria, and Bashir A. Fida
The Efficiency of Foreign Exchange Markets in Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis by Rizwana Bashir, Rabia Shakir, Badar Ashfaq, and Atif Hassan
Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Publications, Research
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 6/16/2014 10:07:00 AM,
Lahore Journal of Economics Special Edition
September 25, 2013
The keynote address was given by Jeffrey Hammer who spoke on governance and service delivery. The speaker outlined how market limitations in service delivery can be matched by appropriate government interventions, though the level of intervention has to be based on a careful analysis of the limitations of each sector as well as country circumstances. This paper outlines how limitations of the market can be matched to appropriate interventions by government as it actually performs, not as it is hoped to perform. This matching will, by necessity, vary with country circumstances.
Read more »Labels: Lahore Journal of Economics, Publications
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 9/25/2013 11:34:00 AM,
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