Shahram Azhar curriculum vitae December, 2016
Department of Social Development & Policy tel: +92-335-5322202 Habib University, Karachi email: [email protected]
Education 2010-2016 Ph.D. Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, United States Dissertation: The Colonial and Post-Colonial Origins of Agrarian Development: A Case of Two Punjabs
2008 MSc. Economics, with distinction, University of Warwick, Coventry Dissertation: Speculative Bubbles as Determinants of Hyperinflation
2006 BSc (Hons) Economics, Deans High Merit List, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore
Fellowships and Honors 2010-2016 Humphrey Fulbright Fellowship for doctoral studies in the United States. 2009 Outstanding Teaching Award, National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad 2007 Higher Education Commission of Pakistan Scholarship for graduate studies in the Economics Department at University of Warwick 2002 University of Cambridge award for highest regional score in Advanced Levels external examinations.
Professional Experience
Assistant Professor, Habib University of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Karachi (2015-Current)
Courses Taught: Marxian Economics History of Economic Thought Political Economy I and II
Additional Projects: Lead Researcher at HU, Partition Studies Project (Consortium with Harvard University South Asia Institute)
Special Advisor to the Minister, Ministry for Planning and Development, Pakistan (2015) Primary Roles: -Developing National Social Data Center in Islamabad -Developing Policy Proposals for Pakistan Vision 2025
National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad 2008-2010 Senior Lecturer Economics Courses Taught: Development Economics Topics in Advanced Development Theory History of Economic Thought Political Economy of Development
Save the Children, Islamabad 2007-2008 Research Economist- Earthquake Relief Program Primary Task: Survey & Questionnaire Design and Analysis for assessing the impact of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir
Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Center, Islamabad 2006-2007 Research Fellow, Education Program Primary Task: Survey Supervision for a rural-urban household survey sponsored by a consortium of Oxford University, Cambridge University, Edinburgh University and DFID to assess the ‘outcomes of education in Pakistan’. 2005-2006 Research Assistant for annual report on “Health Outcomes in South Asia”
Research Published or forthcoming
2016 Political Power and Economic Control: A Social Network Analysis of Pakistani Military Capital (forthcoming) 2016 History, Geography, or Policy: Economic Divergence in the Two Punjabs
2015 “Re-Presenting Class, State and Accumulation in the Political Economy of Pakistan” (accepted for publication in the Economic and Political Weekly) 2012 Chapter Contribution in “Education Outcomes and Poverty in the Global South: A reassessment”, published by Routledge publishers, ‘Education, Poverty and International Development Series’ Chapter 9 2009 “Speculative Bubbles as Determinants of Hyperinflation”, University of Warwick thesis 2008 “Outcomes of Education in Pakistan”, first report published by Oxford University in June, 2005 Chapter on ‘Constructing the Health Index’ in “Health Outcomes in South Asia”, 140-175
Opinion/Editorial Articles
2015 “Remembering Jalib”, published in The Friday Times on March 13 2014 “The struggle over information”, published in The News International on March 22 2014 “Myth of the youth card”, published in The News International on May 9 2014 “Myth of Musharraf’s Boom Needs to End”, published in The Express Tribune on Jan. 16 2012 “The rational way of being a fascist: A critique of neoclassical political economy”, published in The Friday Times on Dec. 7 2012 “Reshuffling a Torn Deck of Cards: Can it solve the problem?” published in The Friday Times on August 14.
Invited Presentations, Conferences, Workshops 2015 ‘Land and Poverty’, World Bank Development Economic Research Group, Washington D.C 2014 ‘Political Economy of Imperialism: The Case of Waziristan’ at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City, NY on 1st June 2014 ‘Historical Institutions and Economic Growth in the Two Punjabs: Some Empirical Results”, a presentation at Critical Agrarian Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst on Feb. 18th 2013 Discussant for ‘Drone Warfare in Pakistan: Past and Future’ at University of Connecticut Law School, Harftord, CT on 12th September 2012 Panel Discussant on ‘Income Inequality in Pakistan: Why is there no Agricultural Tax?” at Press Club, Islamabad on 5th August 2012 “The Future of Pakistan: An evening with young leaders” at Convention Center, Islamabad on 8th March 2011 “Military Capital and Accumulation: The state and economy of Pakistan” at Karachi University, Karachi on 1st May 2010 “The Political Economy of Terrorism in Pakistan”, a presentation at National University of Science and Technology on 14th Sept 2008 “Revisiting Say’s Law: Why Supply does not create Demand?” at Conference on Economic Theory at University of Warwick, Coventry on 21st Feb. 2008 Discussant for “Is there a bubble in the housing market?” at Coventry University, Coventry on 5th April
Other Interests and Activities Music ⋅ Lead singer and co-founder of ‘Laal’, promoting purposive poetry ⋅ Classically trained in Sub-Continental classical music.
Other Community Activities ⋅ Invited as a Panel Discussant on AAG T.V. Spoke on: ‘Role of Youth in Grass-Root Political Activism’ ⋅ Invited as the ‘Young Role Model’ and conducted a 2-hour session: “Writing Biographies: Leadership Lessons”, Islamabad. ⋅ Elected as a representative of the prestigious and first-ever 6-member Student Council of the People’s Rights Movement—an international consortium designed for human rights and social mobilization, April 2005 ⋅ Grass roots activist for the rights of oppressed communities including bonded laborers and ethnic minorities since 2002 and helped form the Bonded Labor Liberation front in Lahore, 2005. ⋅ Played a vital role in the Acid Survivors Foundation in 2009 by lobbying for the Acid Survivors Bill with parliamentarians. The bill was eventually passed in 2011 and represents a landmark success for women’s rights in Pakistan.
Other Skills • Excellent report writing, research and analytical skills • Proficient in EVIEW, STATA and MATLAB.