KARACHI: The Department of Economics in collaboration with the Social Development Policy Institute (SDPT) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) organised a dissemination meeting of research on “Social Footprint of Monetary Policy in Pakistan”, at University of Karachi.
Dr Niels Hegewisch, Country Director FES, while addressing in his opening remarks said that monetary policy is rarely debated in public and even less in its consequences for the wellbeing of the people and he also emphasized the importance of the coordination among Economists, Political Scientists and Policy Makers.
Dr Vaqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director SDPI, said any economic policies should not be devised in isolation but social implications should be taken in its utmost consideration for promoting the welfare of the public at large. He said the non-financial institutions should be involved in the formation of economic policies and regulations which could better advocate the aspects of public welfare in the policies, he said.
The federal government and partners from development sector should support the central bank to enhance its capacity building and actions towards the socio-economic development of the society at large.
Dr Safia Minhaj in her concluding remarks said that neither regulatory authorities nor researchers can work in isolation. In this era of globalization, there is a dire need for effective policy making, institutions like SBP to work in partnership with the Universities and other Research Institutes.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sajid Amin Javed, Research Fellow & Head of Policy Solution Lab (SDPI), said that in order to deliver on “Monteray Policy For All”, the SBP needs to undertake serious reforms to it’s agenda which mainly include; delivering on price stability instead of chasing moving inflation targets, balancing greater autonomy with greater accountability, transparency and oversight, taking the public into confidence, any research agenda on the whole should be inclusive, and widely disseminated. He added SBP should interact with Civil Society, Think Tank, and academia to expand its audience, and maintain a better coordination between policy-making processes of fiscal and monetary policy. In this way welfare of the people could be improved if State Bank take the side effects of it’s policies and actions into account when conducting monetary policy.
Dr Nooren Mujahid while her welcoming remarks emphasized the need for a strong liaison between the academia, institutions, and policy Makers for the socio-economic development of the country. Prof Sajidaen, ex-chairman, Department of Economics also spoke on the occasion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022