3rd RASTA Conference
DAY 1 | Thursday 14th September 2023
REGISTRATION 0900 – 0930
INAUGURAL SESSION 0930 – 1000
Rasta Progress Report
Faheem Jehangir,
Project Director RASTARasta Chairman’s Address
Nadeem Ul Haque,
Vice Chancellor PIDE
I. Urban Development and Industry 1000 – 1130
- Emergence and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Daroghawala Industrial Cluster Lahore
Muhammad Shafaat Nawaz (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA)
Paper, Policy Brief - Exploration and Analysing the Drivers of Urban Sprawl in Pakistan:
A Case Study of Lahore
Mazhar Abbas (Government College University, Faisalabad)
Paper, Policy Brief - Building-Up Policy Framework for Business Incubation Ecosystem in Pakistan
Abdul Wahid (NUML, Islamabad)
Paper, Policy Brief
Discussant: Zahid Asghar
Professor (Economics), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
Tea Break 1130 – 1200
II. Law and Judiciary 1200 – 1330
Bottlenecks or Inefficiencies: A Critical Analysis of Judicial Efficiency and Court Productivity in the Lower Judiciary System of Punjab
Saima Sarwar (Government College University, Lahore)
Paper, Policy BriefInvestigating the Procedural, Institutional and Circumstantial Impediments Leading to Delay in Dispensation of Justice
Ahsan Jamal Pirzada (Jamal & Jamal Advocates & Legal Consultants, Islamabad)
Paper, Policy BriefPrisons as Pathways to Rehabilitation or Criminality? A Case-Study of the Prison’s Effect on Long-Term Rehabilitation Outcomes in Haripur Jail
Shujahat Ali (University of Peshawar, Peshawar)
Paper, Policy Brief
Discussant: Khalid Chauhan
Secretary, Tourism Department, AJ&K Government
Lunch Break 1330 – 1415
Rasta Showcase-I: Domestic Commerce 1415 – 1430
The State of Commerce in Pakistan
Omer Siddique, Senior Research Economist, PIDE Islamabad
III. Human Capital and Opportunities 1430 – 1600
- Nature, Causes and Consequences of Youth Unemployment in Balochistan: An Empirical Analysis
Mohammad Ahsan Achakzai (BUITEMS, Quetta)
Paper, Policy Brief - Skilled Women’s Self-Employability and TVET Programs in Balochistan: An Empirical Study
Nagina Gul (BUITEMS, Quetta)
Paper, Policy Brief Investigating Engineering Graduates’ Employability Using Advanced Machine Learning
Aqsa Shabbir (Lahore College for Women University, Lahore)
Paper, Policy Brief
Discussant: Nooreen Mujahid
Director, AERC, University of Karachi
DAY 2 | Friday 15th September 2023
IV. Sludge And Dead Capital 1000 – 1130
- Critical Appraisal of Legal-Institutional Structure of Revenue Courts in Pakistan: Minimizing Sludge in Agricultural Property Cases
Saad S. Khan (Governor’s Inspection Team, Government of KP)
Paper, Policy Brief Alternate Use of Public Assets: A Case Study of Allama Iqbal Open University
Moazzam Ali (Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad)
Paper, Policy BriefUnlocking Pakistan Railways Dead Capital
Azwar Muhammad Aslam (PIDE Islamabad)
Paper, Policy Brief
Discussant: Ahmed Waqar Qasim
Senior Research Economist, PIDE Islamabad
Tea Break 1130 – 1200
V. Education And Technology 1200 – 1330
Factors Associated with School Dropout in Pakistan: An Assessment Using Survival Analysis
Alvina Sabah Idrees (Government College University, Lahore)
Paper, Policy Brief- An Ignored Solution to K-12 Education Problems in Pakistan: Framework for Mainstreaming Career Education
Ghazanfar Iqbal (University of Makran, Panjgur)
Paper, Policy Brief Technology Adoption in Islamabad Police
Verda Salman (NUST, Islamabad)
Paper, Policy Brief
Discussant: Rafiullah Kakar
Member (Social Sector & Devolution), Planning Commission of Pakistan
Lunch Break 1330 – 1415
Rasta Showcase-II: Value Chain Of Edible Oil 1415 – 1430
Investigation of Value Chain of Edible Oil to Identify Possible Policy Interventions to Achieve Self-Sufficiency
Abedullah Anjum, Chief (Research), PIDE Islamabad
VI. Public Finance Management and Financial Inclusion 1400 – 1600
- Taming the Leviathan Towards Public Sector Resource Efficiency: Fiscal Federalism or Fiscal Decentralization in Pakistan
Muhammad Ahmad Barula (Independent Researcher, Lahore)
Paper, Policy Brief - Withholdingisation of Taxation System: Beneficial or Not?
Amer Shakeel (University of Management and Technology, Lahore)
Paper, Policy Brief - Firms’ Financial Inclusion and Export Performance: Evidence from Manufacturing Sector Firms in Pakistan
Fareeha Armugan (SDPI, Islamabad)
Paper, Policy Brief
Discussant: Athar Maqsood
Professor (Economics), NUST Islamabad
CLOSING SESSION 1600
Lessons, Way Forward & Vote of Thanks
Nadeem Ul Haque
Vice Chancellor PIDE / Chairman RAC, RASTA