"Education, employment and economic development in Pakistan" by Dr. Ishrat Husain
 

Faculty / School

Faculty of Business Administration (FBA)

Was this content written or created while at IBA?

Yes

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2005

Author Affiliation

  • Dr. Ishrat Husain is Dean and Director of the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.

Book or Conference Proceedings Title

Education reform in Pakistan: building for the future

ISBN/ISSN

1933549041

Editor(s)

Robert M. Hathaway

First Page

33

Last Page

45

Publisher

Woodrow Wilson International Center

Place of Publication

Washington

Keywords

Economic development,Education,Employement, Pakistan

Abstract / Description

The “new growth theory” has been highly influential in explaining the differences in the economic performance of developing countries. Economic backwardness is highly linked to low labor efficiency and training, deficient supplies of entrepreneurship and slow growth in knowledge. The countries that have surged ahead, on the other hand, are characterized by high level of human capital accumulation where the educated labor force has raised the level of output and the rate of growth over a sustained period of time. Stern (2001) argues that education takes center stage in any discussion of development strategy for two reasons. First, the quantity and quality of education influences strongly the labor force, governance and the workings of most institutions. Thus it is a key determinant of the investment climate. Firms, both domestic and foreign, are more eager to invest when they know that they will be able to draw on a skilled workforce to make that investment productive. Second, universal access to basic education is essential for ensuring that all segments of society will benefit from macroeconomic growth. Studies confirm that the productivity benefits of education are large— just one additional year of education can increase productivity in wage employment by 10 percent even after controlling for other factors. Skill development through education has been identified as a key determinant of comparative advantage and manufacturing export performance. In Pakistan, it has been shown that districts with a higher literacy level have a higher level of development (SPDC 2003).

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