POLICY @ PIDE

CONTENTS

CITYSCAPE

• Lahore’s Urban Dilemma
• The Islamabad Master Plan
• Strategies to Improve Revenue Generation for Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation

EMPOWERED INSTITUTIONS

• Getting More Out of the PSDP through Results-Based Management
• Doing Taxes Better: Simplify, Open and Grow Economy
• Reforming the Civil Service Compensation in Pakistan
• Policy Insights to Maritime Economy in Pakistan

WORLD BEYOND 2021

• Internet for All
• Remove Service Charge on IBFTs to Encourage Digital Transactions
• Creativity in Schools: A 21st Century Need
• Policy Framework for Vaccinating All

FINANCE AND MONEY MARKET

• The IMF Choice
• The Issue of Own Money
• The Poor State of Financial Markets in Pakistan

FISCAL

• The Pension Bomb and Possible Solutions
• Fiscal Federalism in Pakistan: Need for a Revisit
• National Tariff Policy 2019 – 24

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

• Using Cash Transfer Programs to Get Children Back to School from Work
• Unconditional Cash Transfer and Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Debates and criticism on policy without a solution are generally irrelevant, we at PIDE focus on the solutions. PIDE as nation’s think tank has the responsibility to provide policy solutions. This book is compilation of policy briefs written by the researchers at PIDE. The policy briefs are written during 2020-2021 and are very relevant in current times. I would like to pay my highest regards to the authors of these policy view point. I would like to thank Dr Nadeem ul Haque and Dr Durre Nayab for their constant support throughout. Special gratitude for Dr Mariam Mohsin for writing the foreword. Support staff and publication department are worthy to mention for all their work and support towards the publication of this book.

Fizzah Khalid Butt

FOREWORD

In times of uncertainty, decision makers frequently turn to the research community for thoughts and answers. Academic researchers likewise have strong reasons to participate in policy dialogues. Engaging with policy not only warrants “impact”, but also stimulates accessibility and network growth. Beyond instrumental reasons, an inclination toward action research is an intrinsic virtue that guides the appetite for research among a sizable portion of the academic community. A large part of my interest in linking traditional research to policy and practice comes from Alexander George’s Bridging the Gap: Theory and Practice in Foreign Policy. I think many social science researchers would testify about a similar influence.

The next step, where most researchers struggle, is concerned with the “how to” question. In a recent publication in Palgrave Communications, Kathryn Oliver and Paul Cairney seek answers from scholastic literature in terms of the “how to” question. They condense their findings into steps that guide the research community about making their work more accessible and readable, as well as in line with policy processes and structures. PIDE’s work on policy is an exemplar of such research. PIDE on Policy is a compilation of a series of brief documents that inform and guide policy on an array of topics.

Themes covered in this volume include a wide assortment of regulatory (e.g., Cities and Urban Planning; Empowered and Developed Institutions), distributive (e.g., World Beyond 2021; Finance and Money Market), and redistributive (e.g., Poverty Alleviation) policy briefs. The broad selection of themes covers several policy areas, such as culture and society, economic affairs, education, and government operations. This showcases the diverse expertise that the PIDE has to offer.

I urge the readers to make use of this publication and to connect and engage with the authors of this work. This is a good starting point to bridge the gap between the policy world and the research arena. I hope that this series continues as a regular publication and stimulates further dialogue.

Mariam Mohsin