Determinants of Return Migration- A Case Study of Return from Greece

by: Tanveer Ahmad Naveed, Arshad Ali Bhatti, Sami Ullah
Various migration theories suggest different variables to reveal determinants, degree and dynamics 

of return migration. Some theories discuss the economic aspects of the return migration at individual and household levels like neo-classical and new economics of labor migration theories. Others explore the micro and macro aspects of return migration like transnationalism, structuralism and social network theory. The difference of their interpretations depends upon the conceptual frameworks of each approach. This paper investigates the determinants of return migration on the basis of existing theories of migration. For this purpose, through pre-structured questionnaire, the primary data is collected from 230 Pakistani migrants in Greece who belong to district Gujrat (Pakistan).We employ binary logistic regression analysis to conclude that Pakistani migrants move to Greece with the purpose of higher earnings expectations, employment and permanent settlement but they miscalculate their abilities of economic, social and cultural integration in the host country. Thus, integration failure causes return migration. Hence, the neo-classical theory mainly explains the experience of return migration. Finally, the study recommends utilizing the potentials (human capital and savings, etc.) of return migrants by providing them employment and investment facilities for generating economic growth in home country. 

Link: http://uog.edu.pk/downloads/journal/PJSI_32-48.pdf

Education In Pakistan-Awareness Video

Vicky Noon Educational Foundation Oxford Scholarships for Pakistani Students in UK, 2018

The Vicky Noon Educational Foundation is offering scholarships for Pakistani students to pursue full or part-time master’s or DPhil course at the University of Oxford. The size and duration of awards vary according to each scholar’s circumstances. Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic merit, financial need and the potential social contribution made by the applicant on their return to Pakistan.

for details: 

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/fees-and-funding/fees-funding-and-scholarship-search/vicky-noon-educational-foundation-oxford-scholarships

Earnings Quality: A Missing Link between Corporate Governance and Firm Value

by: Khalid Latif, Arshad Ali Bhatti, Abdul Raheman

The existing literature concerning governance-value relationship is inconclusive as it assumes that the association is direct. A theoretical argument suggests that the effective corporate governance reduces the information asymmetry through better financial reporting quality. This serves as a tool to reduce this information risk. Following the argument, our study is an attempt to investigate the mediating role of earnings quality, a measure of financial reporting quality, in governance-value association. For estimation, we use a panel data of 214 non-financial listed firms in Pakistan for the period 2003-2014 and employ one-way random effect estimator for the SUR system, as suggested by Biørn (2004). Our findings show that the corporate governance effectively improves the earnings quality and value of the firm, which approves the monitoring role. Moreover, earnings quality contributes positively in maximizing the value of the firm and the results demonstrate that better earnings quality partially mediates the governance-value association. It is concluded that corporate governance not only improves the value of the firm directly, but also indirectly through the channel of earnings quality.

http://www.imsciences.edu.pk/files/journals/2017-vol-2/New%2011.pdf

Inflation, Output Growth and Macroeconomic Uncertainties in Pakistan and India

By: Rasul, S., Bhatti, A. A. Khan, H. & Jabeen, M.
This paper examines the dynamic relationships among inflation, output growth and their uncertainties for Pakistan and India for the period 1982-M4 to 2012-M12. We use various GARCH models to estimate the conditional variances that are used as proxies for the uncertainties of inflation and output growth. Finally, we use the bi-variate ARMA (p,q)-GARCH-M (1,1) models with diagonal BEKK specification to find the twelve causal relationships among inflation, output growth and their uncertainties. Our evidence supports the number of important conclusions. Firstly, we find that Friedman (1977) hypothesis, i.e., inflation leads to increase the inflation uncertainty is not supported in both Pakistan and India. Secondly, Cukierman-Meltzer (1986) hypothesis is accepted in Pakistan and Holland (1995) hypothesis is accepted in India. Thirdly, Black (1987) hypothesis is accepted in Pakistan and Deveraux (1989) hypothesis is accepted in India. We also find the strong relationship that higher output growth reduces the inflation in both India and Pakistan. We also conclude that the policy makers of both countries may take measures to reduce inflation rate because output growth is inversely related to inflation and the prevailing uncertainty in the economy.

http://www.bzu.edu.pk/PJSS/Vol36No12016/PJSS-Vol36-No1-14.pdf

The University of Manchester is 5th among the 11 UK universities which produce the most employable graduates

Proud to be alumnus of the University of Manchester, UK.

http://www.businessinsider.com/times-higher-education-best-uk-universities-for-employability-2016-11/#11-university-of-nottingham-the-university-scooped-the-times-good-university-guides-university-of-the-year-award-for-graduate-employment-in-201516-1

2016 Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström

This year, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2016 has been awarded to both Oliver Hart, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and Bengt Holmström, Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Nobel Prize in Economics was given to the Professors for their contributions to contract theory, as mentioned by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in their press release.

This year’s laureates have worked extensively on the construction of a clearly defined and detailed regulatory rubric for determining, among other things, the method of reward for company executives and further analysis of the privatization of public companies or even entire public sectors, whether in whole or in part. The new theoretical tools developed by Hart and Holmström are valuable to understand real-life contracts and institutions as well as potential pitfalls in contract design.