The lack of diversification of the export basket

Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) growth has revived in 2020-21 versus the Covid-affected previous year. However, the Monthly Quantum Index of Manufacturing has been declining since the peak in January 2021 and stands lower than the pre-Covid period in 2019. Within LSM change, other than textiles which is largely export oriented, high growth has come about in domestic oriented sectors such as automobiles and cement. Since the January 2020 study, the Covid pandemic has affected global trade. Astute management of the crises by the Pakistan government allowed industry to reopen quicker than Bangladesh and India. Opportunistically, our exports of textile products, versus the previous year, grew by 23pc to $15.4bn, contributing 75pc to the overall growth of $4bn in exports. Against the pre-Covid 2018-19 period, the $2.2bn growth in 2021 of textiles also accounted for 91pc of the $2.4bn increase in total exports. Thus, Pakistan’s reliance on Textiles has grown, notwithstanding some positive movement on growth of other sectors.

(Adapted from “Contours of a National Charter for Exports,” published by The Pakistan Business Council in 2021)

Can deaths convince anti-vaxxers?

One out of every 542 Americans has died of Covid-19. After more than 18 months of a pandemic, a substantial chunk of the population continues to assert their own individual liberties over the common good. This great divide — spilling into workplaces, schools, supermarkets and voting booths — has split the nation at a historic juncture when partisan factionalism and social media already are achieving similar ends. It is a phenomenon that perplexes sociologists, legal scholars, public health experts and philosophers, causing them to wonder: At what point should individual rights yield to the public interest? If coronavirus kills 1 in 100, will that be enough to change some minds? Or 1 in 10? Today, millions of US residents shun vaccines that have proven highly effective, and resist masks that ward off infection, fiercely opposing government restrictions. Others clamor for regulation, arguing that those who take no precautions are violating their rights — threatening the freedom to live of everyone they expose. No matter where one stands, it puts a new spin on the famous line delivered at America’s founding by Patrick Henry: “Give me liberty or give me death.”

(Adapted from a piece published by USA Today by Dennis Wagner on August 3, 2021)

Shun the vaccine, vote for Trump

All things being equal, supporters of Donald Trump are 18 percentage points more likely to shun Covid-19vaccines. A fourth wave of covid-19 infections is washing across America. It is strongest in the heartland and southern states: cases per 100,000 people are highest in Louisiana, Florida and Arkansas; Missouri has the highest hospitalisations. But the rapidly spreading Delta variant threatens other places, too. Since vaccinations have stalled at around 155m adults, or 60pc of the population aged 18 or over, few if any parts of the country have reached herd immunity. The new wave is likely to crash everywhere. Identifying the causes of vaccine hesitancy can help policymakers decide where to target their efforts. The Economist has collaborated with YouGov, a pollster, to collect weekly surveys on Americans’ intention to get vaccinated against covid-19. Using the demographic profiles of some 24,000 Americans, we have built a statistical model to estimate how likely each respondent is to say they have received, or will get, their jab—and to reveal the biggest causes of hesitancy.

(Adapted from “Which Americans are against the jab?” published by The Economist on July 30, 2021)

Empowering playing with Barbie dolls

The new Barbie class of 2021. The latest reincarnation of the toy doll will appear in the inspirational form of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine co-creator Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert. The scientist admitted that she found the gesture “very strange” at first, but said that she hoped it would inspire girls to study and work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of girls into Stem careers and hope that children who see my Barbie will realise how vital careers in science are to help the world around us,” Ms Gilbert said. The new line-up also includes American healthcare workers Amy O’Sullivan and Dr Audrey Cruz, Canadian doctor and campaigner Dr Chika Stacy Oriuwa, and Brazilian biomedical researcher Dr Jaqueline Goés de Jesus.

(Adapted from “Covid Jab Scientist’s Barbie Doll Is An Antidote To Stereotypes,” by Lucy Bannerman, published on August 4, 2021, by The Times)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 9th, 2021