PSSP Training on Poverty and Distributional Indicators and Micro-Simulations Linked to CGE Modeling
For the past few weeks, researchers from various government, academic and research organizations have been meeting in PSSP's office in Islamabad, Pakistan to be trained in poverty and distributional indicators and micro-simulations linked to CGE modeling. Dr. Dario Debowicz, Dr. Sherman Robinson, Syed Hamza Haider and Angga Pradesha from IFPRI have been running the training which spans over six meetings. The same participants were trained last year in CGE modeling and that resulted in three studies analyzing in a general equilibrium framework three different issues pertinent to Pakistan: the exchange rate misalignment, the energy crisis, and the agricultural income tax policy. This current training hopes to generate an additional appendix on micro-simulations in each of these three studies.
The training includes the following components:
- Poverty and distributional indicators, with explanation of the indicators and illustrations.
- Hands-on practice
- Linking CGE and micro-simulations models: typology, domain of applicability and examples
- Getting changes in poverty and distributional indicators at household level in GAMS for an illustrative case (Productivity growth simulations for Pakistan, linking with Pakistan’s Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2011)
- Hands-on practice: extending the previously done CGE analysis to microsimulate distributional indicators at household level
- Generation of short self-contained papers by the groups extending the already-done analysis in a general equilibrium framework
Protective Mothers: Maternal Education and Child Learning After the 2005 Pakistan Earthquake
PSSP Seminar Series presents
Protective Mothers:
Maternal Education and Child Learning After the 2005 Pakistan Earthquake
source: pomona.edu
A discussion with
Tahir Andrabi
Professor of Economics
Department of Economics, Pomona College
Monday, 29 April 2013
12:30pm – 1:30pm
4B Conference Room
International Food Policy Research Institute
2033 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006-1002 USA
This entry is cross-posted on IFPRI’s South Asia website. If you’d like more information on the South Asia region, please visit southasia.ifpri.info.
Source: Flickr (abhisheksrivastava)
Cotton production plays a significant role in Pakistan’s agriculture and economic growth. It contributes about 8 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, 17 percent in total employment generation and about 54 percent in foreign exchange earnings. Despite being the fourth largest producer and third largest consumer of cotton, Pakistan did not commercially approve Bt cotton varieties until 2010. 60 percent of the cotton area in 2007 was operating unapproved and unregulated adoption of Bt varieties.
The recent study on Bt Cotton Adoption and Wellbeing of Farmers in Pakistan sheds light on these issues and examines three main aspects:
- Economic impact on the wellbeing of farmers after introduction of commercially approved Bt Cotton variety
- The varying effect of Bt technology in diverse agro-climatic conditions
- Yield gains for farmers according to the size of farm they own. For example, seeing impact on small scale farmers that own up to 5 acres of land versus large scale farmers that possess more than 5 acres of land.
To read more, download the full report at Bt Cotton Adoption and Wellbeing of Farmers in Pakistan
Wheat field in Pakistan. Source: Flickr (The Reboot)
This entry is cross-posted on IFPRI’s South Asia website. If you’d like more information on the South Asia region, please visit southasia.ifpri.info.
A growing population, food price inflation, and frequent natural disasters in Pakistan have raised concerns about the country’s food security. Pakistan’s population depends on wheat and rice to meet their daily food energy requirement but past studies have not provided supply or demand projections for these important cereals. IFPRI researchers bridge this information gap using the Almost Ideal Demand System (LA-AIDS) to project household demand for eight food items.
Supply and Demand for Cereals in Pakistan- 2010-2030 presents results and recommendations which include:
- Demand for wheat and rice will more than double by 2030.
- The demand for wheat is expected to be greater than supply, resulting in a deficit.
- Rice production will be more than adequate to meet demand, resulting in a surplus.
- Further research and appropriate policy measures are needed to address the wheat deficit.
Did you know that in South Asia and Africa south of the Sahara, food wastage estimates to around 6-11 kg per capita? According to FAO, global wastage of food each year is around 1.3 billion tons in total. To learn more about the past year's food policy developments, issues and trends from around the world, read the new 2012 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) by IFPRI. You can also watch the launch event live by clicking here!
Source: © HelpAge International 2011
Citing the PSSP Rural Household Survey, a recent blog published by IFPRI discusses how economically active women in rural Pakistan face another burden: to meet the requirements of the traditional gender roles in Pakistan. For more detail, read here: http://www.ifpri.org/blog/double-burden-rural-pakistani-women
SAVE THE DATE
Second Research Competitive Grants Conference
Friday, February 8 – Sunday, February 10, 2013
Friday, Feb. 8th, 9: 00 am to Saturday, Feb. 9th, 1:00 pm
Presentations of New Short-Listed Proposals
Saturday, Feb. 9th, 1:00 pm to Sunday, Feb. 10, 4:00 pm
Interim Research Reports from June 2012 CGP Funded Projects
For Conference Program, click here
To register for the conference, contact Mr. Najeeb Ullah Khan at najeeb_12@hotmail.com
Call for Applications October 2012 (download here)
To follow upon the research Competitive Grants competition completed in January 2012, the Planning Commission of Pakistan and the Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) are pleased to announce a new Call for Applications. Grants are designed to support the agenda of the Planning Commission’s Framework for Economic Growth, adopted as national policy in 2011. Download the Call for Applications here: (WORD) IFPRI PSSP Call for Competitive Grant Proposals due 31 Oct and (PDF format) IFPRI PSSP Call for Competitive Grant Proposals due 31 Oct. This is available also at the Planning Commission web site (www.pc.gov.pk) Applications are due 31 October 2012.
Proposals are sought for research that identifies and evaluates key policy decisions that will support the themes of the new growth strategy and PSSP, and examines alternative economic policy recommendations to enhance their impact. Key research themes include Quality Governance, Vibrant Markets, Creative Cities, and Energetic Youth and Community.
Call for Applications for the First Annual Competitive Grants Program
In May 2011 the National Economic Council of Pakistan adopted a new Framework for Economic Growth recommended by Deputy Chairman Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque and the Planning Commission. The new Framework aims at fostering sustained higher growth and enhanced quality of life through improved governance, vibrant markets, energetic youth and communities, and creative and connected cities. The Framework calls for Pakistan to adopt an ongoing process of reform to improve public service delivery, foster economic competition and international trade, enhance innovation and entrepreneurship, increase youth employment, and raise labor and total economic productivity.
In July 2011, with the support of the Planning Commission, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in collaboration with Innovative Development Strategies (Pvt.) Ltd., launched the Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP). The PSSP is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and guided by a National Advisory Committee chaired by Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque. The PSSP agenda overall supports the Framework for Economic Growth with a particular focus on agriculture and the rural economy. It addresses policies designed to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability, create more competitive agricultural input and output markets, and accelerate income growth, food security and poverty reduction taking into account intra-household, inter-sectoral, inter-regional, and inter-temporal growth dynamics.
Fostering innovation within the academic and policy-oriented research communities of Pakistan is vital to the new growth strategy. Under the leadership of Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque, the PSSP joins with the Planning Commission of Pakistan to announce a first annual Call for Applications for Research Competitive Grants. The Competitive Grants Program will be guided by a Research Advisory Committee comprised of fifteen senior Pakistani and international economic development scholars.
View the Pakistan Strategy Support Program's Call for Applications for the First Annual Competitive Grants Program for more information on:
- Eligible Research
- Categories of Grants
- Applicant Qualifications
- Application Guidelines
- Submission Process and Deadline
- Selection Criteria and Process
- Disbursement of Funds
- Expected Outputs and Grant Program Workshops
- Grant Program Administration
Proposals open January 31. Proposals are due 31 March 2012.
If direct download is not working, try this proxy: Call for Applications for the First Annual Competitive Grants Program
If you have any questions or cannot access the document, please contact us at IFPRI-PSSPGrants@cgiar.org.
Welcome to the website of the IFPRI Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP).
Pakistan is at a crossroads today. The country’s future growth and prosperity depend acutely on overcoming a number of complex issues. Many of these issues are grounded in the persistent challenges of reducing poverty, improving food security, and fostering broad-based economic growth throughout the country. Solutions will partly come from designing strategies, polices and investments that serve the millions of poor, rural households and food-insecure urban households.
Only with a better understanding of how to implement, monitor, and improve these solutions will Pakistan’s growth and poverty reduction objectives be achieved.
The PSSP, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was launched in July 2011 with the aim to create a more favorable enabling environment for investment and enterprise growth, particularly in the agricultural sector. It is being implemented through close collaboration between IFPRI, Innovative Development Strategies (Pvt) Ltd. (IDS), and other collaborators, under the guidance of a high-level National Advisory Committee.
This website will serve as a platform for knowledge sharing as the program progresses.
