Projects

 Estimating Indicators of Skill Mismatch: A Survey of Selected Cities of Pakistan
 IIIE Researchers win research awards for International Islamic University Islamabad
Dr. Pervez Zamurrad Janjua, Foreign Professor, and Dr. Atiq-ur-Rehman, Assistant Professor, International Institute of Islamic Economics, have won two prestigious research awards for International Islamic University Islamabad.
The first research award, amounting PKR 36016877-, has been approved by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan under National Research Program for Universities (NRPU). The grant is awarded to estimate indicators of skill mismatch in the selected cities (provincial capitals) of Pakistan.
The second research award, amounting US$20000/-, has been approved by the Planning Commission of Pakistan under Pakistan Strategy Support Program in collaboration with USAID and International Food Policy Research Institute. The grant is awarded to estimate labor market skill mismatch in selected professions of twin cities (federal capital) of Pakistan.
Higher education in Pakistan has undergone revolutionary changes during the past decade. To achieve desired economic outcomes from education, it is important to have a balance between supply of and demand for graduates in various subjects. An excess supply or shortage of skilled graduates both has associated problems. Over-skilling gives rise to unemployment, lower job satisfaction and social stress related with unemployment including hypertension and crime. A shortage of skills in a subject will cause under-utilization of resources, reduction in the possibilities of investments as well as unemployment in the allied industries and professions. Therefore, some countries have established separate organizations to design a policy to minimize skill mismatch. This project will estimate the gap between demand for and supply of skilled graduates in various professions using several skill mismatch indicators. These indicators will inform recommendations for universities, educational institution, policy institutions and students to create harmony between supply of and demand for skills.
The expected benefits of the research projects are summarized below:

  1. The proposed study will promote research activities on behalf of our institution
  2. The study will enable us to engage our MS/PhD scholars in applied research
  3. The students will get guidelines about choice of their career from the output of study
  4. The educational institutions will get the benefit of streamlining their educational projects in accordance with national needs
  5. The state authority responsible for higher education will be supported to steer the academic activities to the priority areas
  6. The government will be able to reduce the problems associated with unemployment.
Centre of Research for Development and Policy Studies (CORDAPS)
CORDAPS is a research centre established under the auspices of International Institute of Islamic Economics focusing on economic development and policy issues. To this end, the centre provides facilities and a supportive intellectual environment for students and faculty members. More
 
Why Should faiths be taken seriously?
Religion is a key dimension of people’s lives and influences their actions, religious organizations are important social actors, religion and politics are linked and the role of religion in public life is being radically reconsidered. However, the development policies and practices adopted by international and national aid agencies have failed to take faiths seriously, treated religion as an obstacle or tried to hamess faith based organizations (FBOs) to achieve secular development objectives. As a result, the relationships between faiths and development actors are hampered by misunderstanding and suspicion. The lack of relevant research and poor communication between academic disciplines exacerbates the situation.
 
The research programme
The research programme aims to
  • Improve understanding of the relationships between the values and beliefs that drive individual and FBO action and Interaction the ways in which religious values and beliefs and organization.
  • Influence state-society relationships.
  • Provide the knowledge and tools to enable positive dialogue between faiths and development partners.
  • Improve collaboration between FBOs and development agencies to facilitate the achievement of development goals. It has three overarching themes.
  • The relationships between religious values and beliefs and the actions of Individuals and social groups, also commonalities and differences between these values and those underlying mainstream development policies and practices.
  • The dynamic inter-relationships between religious organizations, states, Societies and economies at local, national and international levels focusing on new alignments between faiths, policies, governance and development.
  • The influence of faith-based values and beliefs on concepts of security and the role of FBOs in post-conflict reconstruction and development. These will be addressed through conceptual and analytical development and a Series of research projects coordinated by team members based in Birmingham. The research will investigate the relationships between Religious values and development concepts and practices, including Perceptions of and ways of achieving well-being Faiths, governance and development, for example, in Poverty Reduction Strategy Processes in Africa, post-conflict reconstruction and development and the role of faiths in social movements and as drives of change.
  • Values, religion and public sector reform e.g. in combating corruption Religious and secular organizations engaged in service delivery, for example, education.
  • Tahir Mansoori, Islami Fiqh Mein Nizam e Mudaraba (Urdu translation of Nizamal Mudaraba fil Fiqh al Islam by Sharfuddin Khattab), 1998.
  • Husnul Amin, Muashi Umoor Mein Istihsan Ka Itlaq (An Urdu translation of Istihsan by Muhammad Hashim Kamali)  2001.
  • Urdu Translation under the title ‘Istihsan Aur Maliyati Amoor’ of the book ‘Istihsan and Financial Matters’ by M.Hasim Kamali published by IRTI, IDB Jeddah.
Books Under Preparation:
  • Sayyid Tahir (ed.), A Textbook of Islamic Economics
New Initiatives For Publicaion:
  • Urdu translation of IIIE’s Blueprint of Islamic Financial System (Complete manuscript composed).
  • Urdu translation of Chapter Zakah from Al-Fiqh al-Islami wa adilatahu (Manuscript ready but un-edited).
  • Urdu translation of Ahkam Annaqood (Manuscript composed but unedited).
  • Urdu translation of Insurance in Islam (Manuscript ready but unedited).
    Ideology and the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan for the elimination of Riba from the economy.
Estimating the Impact of the Hajj (in collaboration with Harvard University)
We plan to examine the impact of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj, on a variety of Socioeconomic and attitudinal outcomes by taking advantage of the lottery used to allocate limited Hajj Opportunities. This is of particular interest at a time when Islam and Muslims are the subject of intense Debate with concerns being voiced about potential “clashes of civilizations”. As one of the fastest growing Religions (Moghadam, 2003) understanding aspects of Islam, particularly those that influence how Muslims Interact with others, is of increasing importance. One such aspect is the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and incumbent at least once upon every Muslim who is physically and financially able to make the journey.

The Hajj is the largest gathering of humanity in any one time and place, bringing together around 2.5 million. People from and more than 70 different countries.

The Hajj is not only one of the single-most spiritually moving events in the life of a Muslim, with the pilgrim” returning as a newly born baby [free of all sins]” (saying attributed to the prophet Muhammad –(P.B.U.H ), but one that is explicitly designed to foster a sense of universal humanity and equality, with Muslims of diverse colors, languages, races, and ethnicities all dressed in the same white garb performing the exact same rituals.

The hajj is likely to impact the pilgrim and her community on a multitude of spiritual, social, political and economic levels and we hope to examine a variety of such outcomes. We can broadly think of these impacts along two dimensions-individual changes in the pilgrim and changes in how others view and interact with the pilgrim. First, the pilgrim himself or herself may have changed from the experience in a manner that affects daily life after returning. Such a change could be due to a spiritual rebirth, an alerted attitude towards individuals of different backgrounds, views towards the state and society or simply the consequences of undertaking a physically and financially taxing journey. Second, performing Hajj may change how others relate to and view the pilgrim. Going to Mecca may act as a signal to others of religious commitment, general beliefs and/or of personal wealth. Therefore in addition to personal changes, those returning from Hajj may obtain more prestige in their communities, may be more trusted in business transactions, and may take on leadership roles in community institutions or politics through their changed interactions with others.

Despite the importance of Islam, and of the Hajj, there has been surprisingly little systematic work done on how Hajj transforms the pilgrim an the extent to which such changes have lasting affects. The majority of writings about the impact of Hajj are in the form of personal narratives and travelogues. This project will take advantage of the lottery used to allocate places on the Hajj to examine its impact on attitudes towards others, religious practices, beliefs regarding business and financial ethics, actual practice in business, family life, and community and political participation.