Topological Sensitivity Based Far-Field Detection of Elastic Inclusions

The aim of this article is to present and rigorously analyze topological sensitivity based algorithms for detection of diametrically small inclusions in an isotropic homogeneous elastic formation using single and multiple measurements of the far-field scattering amplitudes. A $L^2-$cost functional is considered and a location indicator is constructed from its topological derivative. The performance of the indicator is analyzed in terms of the topological sensitivity for location detection and stability with respect to measurement and medium noises. It is established that the location indicator does not guarantee inclusion detection and achieves only a low resolution when there is mode-conversion in an elastic formation. Accordingly, a weighted location indicator is designed to tackle the mode-conversion phenomenon. It is substantiated that the weighted function renders the location of an inclusion stably with resolution as per Rayleigh criterion.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figur

Long Term Effect of Economic Growth on Unemployment Level: In Case of Pakistan

This study investigates the long term impact of economic growth on unemployment of Pakistan, from 1990 to 2006, using ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration. The estimated result shows the existence of significant long run negative effect of economic growth on unemployment levels, whereas, in short run no relationship is observed. A one percent increase in economic growth is associated with reduction in the unemployment level by 1.665 percent in the long run. The coefficient of short run parameters is insignificant. The ECM term shows high speed of adjustment as 83 percent short run disequilibrium adjusts in a year. Pakistan should attempt to increase its economic growth, which will reduce its unemployment in the long run. Key word: Unemployment, Economic Growth, Okuns’ Law, ARDL approach to cointegration, Pakista

COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE OF PAKISTAN IN SELECTED MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES: THE RCA APPROACH

The trade balance of Pakistan has witnessed considerabledistortion in recent decades due to globalization induced increasein international competition. The success of a nation in this highlycompetitive global market is dependent on comparativeadvancement in production specialization in diversified industries.The imports of durable and non-durable consumer goods accountfor a large part of imports which can be avoided by developingthese industries. This study investigates internationalcompetitiveness of Pakistan with respect to the world in 11 industriesof manufacturing sector that have weak domestic industrial baseand large domestic consumption/demand, i.e. pharmaceuticalproducts; fertilizers; essential oils, perfumes and cosmetics; soapsand lubricants; plastics and articles thereof; leather articles; paperand paper products; wood and articles of wood; ceramics; glassand glassware; and toys and sports good, using RCA index on 2digit HS-level data. The result revealed that among the selectedmanufacturing industries, Pakistan has a higher comparativeadvantage only in leather articles, toys, and sports goods, whereas,other industries are showing higher competitive disadvantage. Theoverall international competitiveness of selected industries is alsodepicting a deteriorating trend which requires that the productionproblems and international trade issues required for diversifyingthe production base in the country need to be addressed

Free Trade Agreements and International Trade Flow of Pakistan: A Gravity Modelling Approach

This study explores the effect of free trade agreements (FTAs) on international trade flow of Pakistan by using contemporary panel estimation techniques on augmented gravity models for export flow and import flow with major 47 global trading partners from 1980 to 2016. The estimated results of standard gravity equations are consistent with the theory; whereas, findings of augmented variables revealed significant negative effect of SAFTA on both exports and imports flow. The FTA with China, Malaysia, and Indonesia have significant positive effect on imports with insignificant/negative effect on exports flow; whereas, FTA with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the USA have significant positive effect on export flow with insignificant/negative effect on imports. The study urges Pakistan to revisit its FTA policies with China, Malaysia, and Indonesia for greater market access. Future studies should address the disaggregated behavior of bilateral trade flow between Pakistan and its trading partners with preferential/free trade agreement

Impact of oil prices on remittances to Pakistan from GCC countries: evidence from panel asymmetric analysis

International migration and remittances from oil-exporting Gulf countries are important sources of employment, income, and foreign exchange for Pakistan. This study investigates the asymmetric impact of oil prices on remittances to Pakistan from GCC countries, over the period 1980 to 2018, by employing the recently advanced non-linear panel Pooled Mean Group (PMG) model. The findings show that oil prices and remittance are asymmetrically associated. The increasing oil prices have a significant positive effect only in the long run; whereas, reducing oil prices reveal a significant negative effect only in the short run. Findings of other explanatory variables show that the economic condition in host countries, exchange rate, and trade relations have positive effects only in the long run; whereas the economic condition in the home country has significant negative effects in the long run and positive effect in the short run. This study urges oil exports to stabilize oil supply and prices, and Pakistan to enhance trade relations, exchange rate adjustments, and financial developmen

Remittances Flow to Pakistan: A Gravity Approach

This study investigates macroeconomic determinant and potential of remittances flow to Pakistan from selected 12 major partners, using the augmented Gravity model on panel framework from 1995 to 2012. The Generalized Least Square technique is used to explain the macroeconomic behaviour of remittances flow. The result shows that the standard Gravity variables explain the remittances flow, and the result of augmented variables shows that the real exchange rate and inflation rate have significant positive, whereas the interest rate has significant negative impact. The binary variable for common language and GCC shows significant positive impact indicating importance of the Gulf region and common language for remittances flow. The potential of remittance flow shows existence of high potential in Japan, Germany, Norway, Qatar and Kuwait respectively. It urges Pakistan to send migrant workers to potential economies, and make domestic environment investment friendly and reduce interest rate to encourage remittance

Globalization Challenges and Opportunities: An Empirical Analysis of Pakistan

The prime goal of this study is to evaluate the association between poverty, economic globalization and income disparity in the context of Pakistan. The pragmatic work is based on the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) for long run relationship and Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) approach for short run relationship testing span from 1973 to 2013. The study shows that there is long-term and short run association between Real GDP and GLOB. This study identifies the globalization’s impact over inequalities in income and poverty in the context of Pakistan. The paper provides some useful and doable policy recommendations to reap maximum benefits and make globalization successful, acceptable and fruitful for Pakistan

Determinants and Sustainability of External Debt: A Panel Data Analysis for Selected Islamic Countries

This study analyses the determinants and sustainability of external debt of selected Islamic countries. The study uses panel data of ten oil & gas exporting countries and nine oil & gas importing countries from 2004 to 2016. For oil & gas exporting Islamic countries, economic growth, central government revenue, FDI, and population have a negative effect on external debt, while central government expenditure, trade openness, inflation, and current account balance have a positive effect on external debt. For oil & gas importing Islamic countries, economic growth, central government revenue, current account balance, domestic investment, and labour force have a negative effect on external debt; whereas, FDI and foreign exchange reserve have a positive effect on external debt. The result of sustainability analysis shows that for many oil & gas importing Islamic countries, the actual debt is more than their expected debt based on their macroeconomic performance. For oil & gas exporting Islamic countries, the situation is not as alarming and their external debt position is still better, except few countries

The growth impacts of agriculture value-added, energy utilization, and environmental degradation in Pakistan: Causality in continuous wavelet transform approach

Considering the increasing challenge to Pakistan's sustain-able economic growth and development, the current studyposits a fresh perspective on the dimension of attainablesustainable economic growth in the country. Based on this,a more innovative Granger causality of wavelet coherenceand frequency domain approaches are employed to profferinference for the relationship between economic growth,agriculture value-added, energy utilization, urbanization,and environmental degradation via carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the period 1965 to 2021. The result revealsthat economic growth in Pakistan is positively related to theaforementioned variables with a significant dimension.Moreover, with a statistically significant degree of evidence,there is bidirectional causality between energy utilizationand economic expansion. Similarly, there is a significantbidirectional causality between environmental degradation(as captured by carbon emission) and economic expansion.This better translates that historical information of energyutilization and carbon emissions could explain the futuredimension of economic growth in Pakistan and vice versa.Expectedly, increasing urbanization and value-added fromthe agricultural sector of the economy both Granger causeseconomic growth in Pakistan. The implication for thepolicymaker is that as much as economic growth is a vitalindicator of sustainable development, the policy initiativesshould reflect environmental, energy development, agricul-tural sector, and urban activities dimensions.publishedVersio

Do Globalization, Technology Adoption and Economic Development Influence Income Inequality in Developing Asian Nations?

Currently, income inequality has become an international issue that needs to be overcome and also requires the attention of researchers and policymakers. Hence, this study is an attempt to explore the impact of globalization, technology adoption, and economic development on income inequality. For this purpose, 20 years of large-scale panel data over the period from 2001 to 2020 for ten emerging Asian nations (Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Laos, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines) is mined from the World Bank database and KOF globalization index. In order to inspect the empirical relationship among the selected variables, the panel data fixed effects model (FEM) along with the robust standard error is employed. The results indicate that globalization, technology adoption, and economic development have a negative linkage with income inequality, which means these factors play a significant role in removing the income inequality in developing countries. This study provides insight for policymakers while developing policies regarding income inequality elimination in the country