Page 8 - Pakistan Link - June 25, 2021

P8 – PAKISTAN LINK – JUNE 25, 2021 OPINION
Negative Externalities of Pandemic and Climate Change

n By Masood H Kizilbash flagrant violation of Paris Agreement by the
Islamabad, Pakistan developed states. particularly USA.
In the backdrop of two negative external-
he economy of Pakistan has suffered a ities, the performance of Pakistan appears to

setback from the combined effect of co- be commendable. How could it be achieved?

Tvid-19 and climate change. Th e former The answer lies in the theory of Joseph Stiglitz

affected the economy from February 2019 that investment in green economy will help
and the later as a consequence recover from the Covid-19 crisis. By green
of blatant violation of Paris transition he implies that “well directed pub-
Agreement by the developed lic spending, particularly investments in the
world. green transition, can be timely, labor-inten-

The economy of Pakistan sive (helping to resolve the problem of soar-
was in a sinking state some three ing unemployment ) and highly stimulative
years ago. It importunately re- -delivering far more bang for the buck than,

quired short-term measures say, tax cuts. There is no economic reason why

to save it from virtual sinking. The first was to countries, including the US, cannot adopt

go ahead with seeking foreign assistance from large, sustained recovery programs that will

friendly countries, namely Saudi Arabia, United affirm - or move them closer to - the societies
Arab Emirates and China to keep the economy they claim to be.”

floating. The second was the package announced Joseph Stiglitz has propounded the the-

on 24th March, 2020. The package had two dis- ory on two postulations. The first is that “v-

tinct objectives. The first objective was to pro- shaped recovery is probably a fantasy. And

vide immediate relief to daily wage-earners and that because Covid-19 looks likely to remain
self-employed labor through cash disburse- it to drastically cut its job-creating development pact of the pandemic was less acute at -1.5% in with us for the long term, we have time to

ments. The second objective aimed at three sec- spending, reduce its subsidy bill, as well as re- 2020 as against India -9.6%, Thailand -6.5%, ensure that our spending reflects our priori-

tors which fell in the category of Stiglitz’s Green form (i.e. raise) sales tax and income tax from Iran -3.7% and Indonesia -2.2%. As for the ties. The second is that “we also know from
Economy, namely, agriculture, small and me- the next fiscal year for mobilizing revenues” to year 2021, the projection of growth for Paki- economic theory and history that markets

dium size industries and health. achieve a lasting improvement in public finances alone are ill-suited to manage such a transi-

The initial response was further widened and place debt on downward path”. Obviously, Th e answer lies in the theory of tion, especially considering how sudden it has
in April and May to include cuts in duties and the brunt would largely be borne by the low- Joseph Stiglitz that investment been. There is no easy way to convert airline

taxes on food items, ban on export of some food middle-income segments that have already been employees into Zoom technicians. And even

items and personal protection equipment meant shaken by the hefty increase in electricity prices, in green economy will help if we could, the sectors that are now expand-

for hospitals, payment of export rebate and duty food inflation, job losses and pay cuts. Business- recover from the Covid-19 ing are much less labor-intensive than the
drawback and refund of GST to exporters/ex- es will also feel the impact. The withdrawal of ones they are supplanting.”

port industries and removal of restriction on certain corporate tax exemptions worth Rs 140 crisis. By green transition he Thomas Malthus in his book titled “An

movement of goods through trucks across the billion has already caused unease in the corpo- implies that “well directed Essay on the Principles of Population” in 1798
country, deferment of payment of utility bills, rate sector as it will hurt growth prospects and AD had articulated that unchecked increase

etc. diversification plans of the companies.” public spending, particularly in population attracted natural catastrophes,

A cautious approach was adopted for ad- It is no wonder that the newly appointed investments in the green such as, floods, draughts, earthquakes, etc.

justment of discount rate for fear of inflation. Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has come out which he called positive checks to balance
It was gradually adjusted from 13.25% in early with a statement to renegotiate some of the transition, can be timely, food supply with population. This could only

March to 7% in June, 2020. However, the needs provisions of the arrangement in view of rising labor-intensive (helping to be averted if humans took negative checks on
for finances of SMEs and business enterprises trend of corona virus. population growth. With world population

were catered in the monetary policy framework. The two negative externalities in corona vi- resolve the problem of soaring growing from one billion to more than seven
These included financing of wages and salaries rus and climate change have not only adversely unemployment) and highly billion during the interim period, it is now ar-

expenses for three months between April and affected growth in Pakistan but across the globe gued that climate change and Covid-19 crises

June, relaxation in collateral requirements, fur- during the last two years. According to estimates stimulative -delivering far are off-shoots of the Malthusian theory, work-
ther reduction in end-user rate, opening of spe- of International Monetary Fund the world econ- more bang for the buck than, ing to wreck existing economic structure.
cial for employees to receive wages, borrowing omy recorded a negative growth of -3.5% in 2020 The negative check by humans lies in

from banks other than maintaining payrolls, a and lowered the projection of growth of 5.6% to say, tax cuts transformation of economies to Green Econ-
reduction in bank’s exposure limits etc. 4.2% in April, 2021 as the pandemic intensified omies. Pakistan started early to adopt it and

The home-grown policies were keeping in the second and third wave. The estimates of stan was 0.5% (since revised by the government must ensure implementing it without yielding

the economy afloat till Pakistan revived its $ 6 the Organization for Economic Cooperation to 3.94%), India 5.4%, Thailand 4%, Iran 1.5% to pressures from within and without.

billion Extended Fund Facility Arrangement, and Development (OECD) and World Bank also and Indonesia 4.4%. The results were achieved

signed on 3rd July, 2019. This step replaced fell in line with IMF projections with some dif- despite an adverse impact of climate change in (The writer is a retired government ser-

home-grown policy framework with tough con- ferences. The regional and state-wise projections Pakistan. According to a recent joint study titled vant and author of several monographs and
ditions that the Arrangement stipulated. In an for the two years depicted the same trend with “Climate Risk Country Profile” by the Asian De- books. His latest book is: Human Confl ict

editorial dated 26th March, 2021, Dawn high- variations within the band. velopment Bank and World Bank, Pakistan is with Nature-Alarm Bell for the Demise of our
lighted its ill-effects on the economy of pursu- As compared to other countries of the facing an annual economic loss of $ 3.8 billion. Modern Civilization. e-mail: Masood_kizil-

ing a contraction fiscal policy “which requires world, the World Bank data shows that the im- This cost is being borne by Pakistan due to a bash@hotmail.com)
Ramadan at Starbucks: How Companies Can Profit by Respecting Religious Diversity

n By Eboo Patel about religion’s place in corporate America. In vice president at Nike. When she went to
recent months, businesses have increasingly the beach, she often noticed that Muslim

Thank God for Texas barbecue,” I said paid attention to racial and gender diversity. But women did not go in the water. Those who

as I pulled into the parking lot. I lead an religious diversity is still largely an afterthought did wore swimsuits that looked heavy and

“organization that works with colleges – even though religious intolerance and faith- uncomfortable. As a designer, she saw an op-
on matters related to religious diversity, and based hate crimes surged during the Trump portunity. Why not figure out how to make

I was heading to Baylor University to give a presidency and show few signs of going away. swimwear for the hundreds of millions of Mus-
keynote on interfaith cooperation. A friend One 2020 analysis of Fortune 100 com- lim women who want to go to swim in attire
had told me about a barbecue joint near its panies by the Religious Freedom and Business that adheres to the modesty standards of their
southeastern Texas campus, and I went over Foundation found that religion receives less at- religion, and is comfortable? She and her team
to eat before my speech. tention than all other major identity categories, at Nike went to work and designed precisely
But I started to reconsider as soon as I including race/ethnicity, women/gender and that. The swimwear line launched in late

walked inside. Fox News was blaring from a sexual orientation. And more than half of those 2019, enabling Nike to access new customers
television with a story about Donald Trump’s companies make no mention of religion or faith clamoring for modest swimwear.
Muslim ban, and about a dozen white guys on their diversity homepages. Nike isn’t alone. Last year in Malaysia,

wearing overalls stared at me, a brown-skinned That’s a costly mistake, in both human and Starbucks recognized that because of the pan-

man, as I walked in. financial terms. demic, many people could not visit family for
At the food counter, the items were not Corporations are uniquely positioned to Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, marked
labeled very well. I’m Muslim, and I don’t eat help curb religious intolerance because they can by daily fasting from dawn to sunset. So the
pork. provide employees with the tools to navigate company created Ramadan Bazaar-inspired

Living in Chicago, I usually tell servers diversity, and accommodating religious differ- treats to make people feel at home.

about my religious restrictions. But feeling sus- ences among staff can also boost morale and Netflix, meanwhile, has churned out con-

picious eyes on me, I decided that announc- I don’t know whether she knew I was Mus- retention. tent that highlights different aspects of diverse
ing my minority faith was not wise. So I went lim, but she knew I was something different. Businesses also can tap into new markets religions such as an animated show about Hin-

item by item, asking for ingredients. Now, I was And thanks to her hospitality, I got barbecue, by creating services that cater to the desires of du deities called “Ghee Happy.” Marvel recently
holding up the line. her restaurant got $11.99 and she got a $10 tip. different religious groups, boosting their bot- cast its first on-screen Muslim superhero. And

Then something happened. The server It was a successful business transaction, tom lines. dating apps for people of different faiths have
said, warmly: “Here are the four things you can which happened only because she was sensitive been around for a while – from Christian Min-
eat.” She piled my plate with food that didn’t in- to my religious identity. Nike executive saw Muslim women’s need gle to JDate.
clude pork. I think about this story a lot when I think Consider the case of Martha Moore, a STARBUCKS, P24
www.PakistanLink.com