Why did Pakistan fall so far behind in terms of growth from its neighbors? To what extent is this due to low worker productivity? How do we measure worker productivity? How do exports and women working in the labor force help increase productivity? In this episode of Let’s Talk Development, Dr. Ijaz Nabi and Dr. Gonzalo Varela answer these questions and more.
Dr. Ijaz Nabi is Country Director of Pakistan at the International Growth Centre (IGC). He is a member of Pakistan Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, chairs the boards of Punjab Population Innovation Fund and Punjab Skills Development Fund, and is on the board of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF). He formerly worked at the World Bank in Washington DC (1986-2008), working in Mexico, Korea, Thailand (leading the World Bank team during the East Asian financial crisis), Malaysia, Korea, Laos and Myanmar. In 2002-2008, he was Manager of Economic Policy for South Asia region.
Dr. Gonzalo Varela is a Senior Economist in the Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice of the World Bank. His work focuses on how trade and investment policy affect firms’ performance, and it has been published in peer-reviewed journals, books and reports. He holds a PhD in Economics from Sussex.