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EJAD strives for sustainable development in the country. EJAD's focus is on re-orienting "development" in Pakistan to be sustainable: both socially and economically (by making it equitable). EJAD, more specifically, work on people’s perspective issues related trade and economics. EJAD believes that sustainable development can be achieved through following the course in given order:

 

Equity: Equity demands the progressive equalization of access to opportunity for all members of the society. It requires dismantling of discriminatory rules and unfair economic processes that disadvantage certain sub-groups in society.

 

The issues associated with equity may be as following:

  • Highly unequal asset ownership, both in terms of physical and human assets as a limiting factor for general advance in productivity in the society.

  • Markets by themselves rely solely on price-cost considerations and are unable to address issues of equity.

  • The intensification of world trade has generally been associated with skill-biased technical change (SBTC), benefiting, in terms of higher pay, skilled workers versus the unskilled, and in terms of higher margins over cost in more technologically advanced products.

 

A human development approach to trade recognizes that trade by itself cannot address existing or induced inequities and promotes the search for complementary policies.

 

Empowerment: Empowerment speaks of the capability of members of the society to shape processes and events that affect their lives.

 

The issues associated with empowerment may be as following:

  • Independent Electorate.

  • Mobilization and employment conditions of female labour.

  • Increase in income, and freedom.

 

A human development approach evaluates both the costs and benefits of trade in terms of empowerment and promotes the search for trade strategies that minimise the costs and maximise the benefits.

 

Productivity: Productivity involves the raising of human capabilities among members of the society, both as an end in itself and as a means to raise the capability of society as a whole.  Productivity involves advances in health, education, and labour force capabilities.

 

The issues associated with productivity may be as following:

  • Increasing incomes and protection from income volatility so that households can provide for the basic needs, such as nutrition, that are most efficiently provided within the household.

  • Robust markets and public institutions to provide those other basic needs, such as health and education that cannot be provided by individual households .

  • Productivity increases are necessary but not sufficient for human development.

  • It is possible to raise productivity, especially in the short- to medium-term, through declines in employment, in which case a single-minded effort to raise productivity has an adverse effect on employment and human development.

A human development approach to trade is acutely sensitive to the questions of whether national and global trade policies are productivity-enhancing or -diminishing.

 

Sustainability: Sustainability is concerned with the durability of social gains and that these gains do not prevent subsequent generations from improving their own welfare.

 

The issues associated with sustainability may be as following:

  • Environmental sustainability.

  • Sustainability in human capabilities, such as health and education.

  • Sustainability in financial, political, and social stability and progress.

 

A human development approach to trade must pay particular attention to the impact of trade on growth, employment and livelihood, because these are the key contributors to sustainability.

 
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EJAD employ five broad strategies to achieve its objectives, namely: monitoring; research and analysis; advocacy and lobbying; awareness raising; and networking.  

 

Monitoring: EJAD keep abreast of the various developments, discussions, debates, and decisions being made in the international trade regime. Additionally, EJAD watch trade and economic policies of the government and monitor Pakistan’s engagement with WTO. Internationally, EJAD keep an eye on positions/activities of related groups/networks/ organizations. 

 

Research: The lack of available information makes it very difficult to establish a comprehensive understanding of the linkages between trade policies, economic welfare, and the power structures that shape our society. EJAD struggle to fill this information gap so that these issues may be better understood. EJAD believe that the knowledge gaps should be filled through serious efforts towards research. EJAD undertake research, identify researchers and institutions (local & international), and commission the research where appropriate. The research findings guide the advocacy work of EJAD. 

 

Advocacy and Lobbying: EJAD is committed to advocate for required change at the policy level. Lobbying is an important ingredient of advocacy especially at policy level and EJAD exploit the available policy space and try to expand it for more inputs from the civil society. 

 

Awareness Raising: The information gleaned from research and monitoring becomes useful only if it is disseminated. EJAD is mandated to serve as hub for providing WTO and trade related information, analysis and their implications on various walks of life. EJAD strive to raise the level of public awareness concerning the importance of international trade in the current global scenario and implications of trade liberalisation on people in Pakistan. EJAD disseminate relevant information through media, public meetings, seminars, and the like. EJAD plans to actively advance positions on relevant issues and encourage discussion and debate at all levels. At the grass root level, EJAD plans to present comprehensible WTO, trade and economics related technical stuff so that the different stakeholders can understand them easily. EJAD endeavours to use following channels to disseminate information and initiate debate:

         

-  Forum-on-Trade (an e-discussion forum)
-  EJAD Trade Bulletin (an electronic news bulletin on trade news)
-  Website
-  Published documents in English and Urdu
-  Press articles and media briefings
-  Seminars/conferences/workshops/meetings 

-  Networking

 

Networking & Alliance Building: EJAD believes that the resistance, in this era of globalisation, also has to be globalised for it to be effective. Therefore, EJAD would be building alliances with others both within and outside Pakistan. Efforts would be put to share information and ideas with other related government departments, research institutions, chambers of commerce, academia, NGOs, community organisations, and various other bodies working on similar themes. Through broader membership, the EJAD believes that joint efforts with diverse stakeholders will help refine our positions on different WTO agreements and effectively sensitise the policy makers by providing them precise feedback on wide range of WTO issues.
 


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