Investment facilitation at the WTO is not investment redux

Discussion of investment facilitation at the WTO should enhance the development dimension of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. It should be focused, open-ended, inclusive, and allow for individual country implementation capacity. It should engage trading partners in capacity building of weaker members. It should envisage a counterpart Investment Facilitation Agreement

Education and the income differential: an estimation for Rawalpindi city

Empirical tests of the human capital hypothesis—that education increases an individual's income—have been undertaken in several countries with favourable results [13]. These results show that (1) income differentials between individuals of different educational levels are wide; (2) the differentials establish shortly after the initial years of work and maintain through the duration of the life cycle; (3) the differentials are greater in developing countries than in developed countries; (4) the returns to education, after allowing for educational costs, exceed the returns to physical capital investment in developing countries; (5) the highest returns are to primary education; and (6) private returns exceed social returns. Which, if not all, of these results are true for Pakistan is not known. This paper yields such comparative results through an application of the human capital hypothesis to Rawalpindi City. The data for Rawalpindi are for males and derive from a socio-economic survey conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics in 1975

An International Support Programme for Sustainable Investment Facilitation

The global challenges of poverty, sustainable development, and climate change are being tackled with renewed vigour in international negotiations of sustainable development goals for 2016–2030. New commitments also mean increased demands for investment—quantitatively more and qualitatively more sustainable. The latter depends on unleashing the inherent package of benefits embedded in capital and on creating shared value for all stakeholders. Much evidence suggests that sustainability can be commercially viable under appropriate policy frameworks. Hence, the need to put such frameworks in place, globally and nationally, to ensure meeting the increased investment demands of the future. Actions at the national level will require international support. This note advances the case for an international support programme for sustainable investment facilitation. As it explains, potentially all investments are sustainable, but the appropriate policy frameworks need definition, often in novel ways and increasingly in partnership with multiple stakeholders, domestic and foreign. Facilitating investment for future needs, therefore, is not a matter of promotion-as-usual, but a process of discovery and diffusion of new approaches and applications, a process that needs nurturing and support by the international community. Ways in which such backing can be provided to an international support programme for sustainable investment facilitation are discussed in detail, including making use of the World Trade Organization- (WTO) led Aid-for-Trade Initiative and the recently adopted WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The issues mentioned for possible inclusion in the support programme, as well as the options outlined on how such a programme could be put in place, are illustrative. The key premise is the importance—and urgency—of creating more favourable conditions for sustainable FDI flows to meet the investment needs of the future. As governments and the private sector increasingly share this view, they will hopefully muster the political will and find the appropriate venue to put an international support programme for sustainable investment facilitation in place

Globalization: The Challenge for Pakistan

This paper makes the case for Pakistan to engage actively in globalization. At present, the country is more a recipient of globalization than a participant. There is a need to shift the terms of engagement from passive to active involvement. Particular effort is needed to encourage foreign companies already present in Pakistan to integrate activities with their global operations. Export-oriented investment requires a more favorable trade regime. Above all, global engagement will require Pakistan to build up its technological capabilities substantially, both at the enterprise level and economy-wide. These shifts imply a revitalized industrial policy endorsed by industry and a vigorous policy thrust aimed at investment-led growth

Inward FDI in Pakistan and its policy context

Pakistan's large domestic market and policy environment are generally attractive to foreign direct investment, but terrorist violence and natural disasters are keeping investors at bay. Pakistan was the tenth largest recipient of inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) in Asia in 2006-2008. Pakistan has also been successful in attracting investment from other developing countries. There are successful joint ventures with parastatals. The policy regime is investor friendly, and doing business in Pakistan is easier than in any of its neighboring countries. These advantages notwithstanding, inward FDI flows shrank by 60% in 2009-2010, a reflection of global trends and internal difficulties. Governance and terrorism are overriding preoccupations. Retaining the confidence of both foreign and domestic investors is vital. Determined efforts are needed to realize the country's considerable market potential

Foreign Direct Investment and Technological Capabilities: The Relevance of the East Asian Experience for Pakistan

This paper makes the case for a vigorous policy thrust to support investment-led growth. Pakistan’s economy has not maintained a sufficient level of capital formation to sustain growth over the long term. Two thirds of current growth is driven by consumption and not investment: this needs to be turned around. The government needs to put in place an investment regime that motivates and induces industry to invest, innovate, and reinvest. Foreign direct investment can play an important role in strengthening the country’s investment rates. There is also need for deliberate polices to boost technological capabilities in the enterprise sector. In this context, East Asia – which successfully created a dynamic process of capital formation and technological learning that upgraded its productive capacity and underpinned export success – holds important lessons for Pakistan

WTO 投资便利化并非回归原有的投资协定

Discussion of investment facilitation at the WTO should enhance the development dimension of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. It should be focused, open-ended, inclusive, and allow for individual country implementation capacity. It should engage trading partners in capacity building of weaker members. It should envisage a counterpart Investment Facilitation Agreement

投资便利化框架的发展层面

The development dimension of the WTO discussions on investment facilitation includes provisions on special and differential treatment and technical assistance for developing countries. Also important are corporate responsibility and home country support of host country measures. The discussions should ensure that these development provisions are more than hortatory language

The development dimension of an investment facilitation framework

The development dimension of the WTO discussions on investment facilitation includes provisions on special and differential treatment and technical assistance for developing countries. Also important are corporate responsibility and home country support of host country measures. The discussions should ensure that these development provisions are more than hortatory language