PurposeThe major objective of this study is to examine the efficacy of the technical and vocational training courses imparted to generate employment or enhance the productivity of participants.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted in the province of Sindh, Pakistan by adopting a quasi-experimental approach. The experiment was conducted on 105 individuals—with the age group of 20–25—distributed between the treatment group and the control group. The data collected through the experiment were analyzed by applying a paired-sample t-test, independent sample t-test and one-way between-group analysis of variance (ANOVA).FindingsThe findings of this study show statistically significant higher monthly earnings of Rs14, 223 after the training intervention program. Findings also exhibit a significant difference in monthly earnings between the control and the treatment groups.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study can provide useful input to policymakers while devising the policies regarding technical education and vocational training (TVET) and to the international donors in assessing the impact of the training initiatives.Originality/valueThis study presents experimental-driven evidence on the role of technical education and vocational training in improving the labor market outcomes.

Technical and vocational education plays a pivotal role in mobilizing the wheels of the nation towards development and prosperity and hence it's inevitably important to focus on enhancing the quality of education provided in TVET institutes. Considering the huge skills gap Pakistan has initiated a five-year reform support program in 2011 to transform the current TVET system proposed by National skills strategy. This study hence aims to evaluate the outcomes of the reform support program through field verification and taking inputs from the major stakeholders. The case study approach with single embedded design in which different polytechnic institutions operated under government, private sector and Non-Governmental Organisations were used as unit of analysis sharing the same contextual situations. The findings show that despite getting the support from the international donor agencies and prudently strategized policies, the government has not been successful in achieving the desired outcomes of the reform support program. The success factor identified that could thrive the TVET sector is the strong coalition among all the stakeholders including government, private sector and employers' federation.

A doctoral degree is perceived as a milestone in one’s expedition of educational advancement; however, studies show that 40% to 60% doctoral candidates do not possess persistence to complete their degree. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry is to explore the factors that contribute toward increasing the persistence level among the doctoral students. Semi structured in-person interviews of eight participants (four male and four female) selected through snowball sampling were conducted in a university setting. The thematic analysis identified certain motivational factors including career progression, gaining subject command, and the desire to achieve self-actualization. Autonomy, sense of purpose, self-determination, and problem-solving skills were found to be the most effective factors that promote resiliency in the students to help complete their degrees.

Purpose This paper evaluates the performance of actively managed conventional and Islamic equity funds in a developing economy with a focus to assess the performance-growth puzzle posited by Gruber (1993) (a.k.a Gruber’s puzzle). Under the context of an emerging market of Pakistan, this study explores if actively managed equity fund (AMEF) managers have been able to add value by outperforming the market in terms of stock-selection and market-timing abilities; and the comparative performance analysis of Islamic versus conventional AMEFs is also carried out. Design/methodology/approach We employ Sharpe and Treynor ratios, Capital asset pricing model, Fama–French three factors model (1993), Carhart four-factor model (1997) and Hendrickson (1981) market timing models on 45 equity funds comprising of 23 conventional and 22 Islamic equity funds operating in Pakistan for a period of 10 years. The overall sample period (2008–2018) is divided into two 5 years sub-periods (i.e. 2009–2013 and 2014–2018) and three 3 years sub-periods (2009–2011, 2012–2014 and 2015–2017) to be viewed in conjunction with the country's macro-economic condition. Findings We report that the actively managed equity funds (AMEFs) were unable to beat the market index with their stock selection or market timing capabilities. However, AMEFs depicted improved performance in the post-global financial crisis period where both conventional and Islamic AMEFs generated substantial rewards for the given amount of risk. Also, conventional AMEFs outperformed Islamic AMEFs potentially due to their holdings in highly leveraged value and large-cap stocks, while Islamic AMEFS invest more cautiously in small-cap and value firms. Analysis of market timing skills revealed that the funds have not been able to select the undervalued stocks and adopted a defensive strategy in the post-global financial crisis recovery period. Practical implications Our findings shed some interesting insights and raise some pertinent questions for research, policy, and practice – specifically for developing countries’ context. The no ‘return-growth’ configuration defies its fit with the ‘Gruber puzzle’ and somewhat presents a case of what we call the ‘Inverse Grubber puzzle’. This novel notion of the ‘Inverse Grubber puzzle’ should inform policy and practice to reflect on their practices, institutional arrangement, regulatory framework and policy design in developing economies characterized by lacklustre performance and growth of AMEFs. For example, the regulatory design may consider focusing on stimulating financial inclusion and deepening by motivating low-cost Index tracker funds (ITFs) – with lower fund management costs, while allocating the avoided cost to flow towards effective marketing campaigns driving greater awareness, financial deepening, and investor base diversification. For future research, financial development researchers may explore the implications and appropriateness of AMEFs versus ITFs in other developing economies. Originality/value The work reported in this paper is original and constitutes a valuable asset for ethno-religious-sensitive investors. The research has not been published in any capacity and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

PurposeIt has been demonstrated in the US market that expected market excess returns can be predicted using the average higher-order moments of all firms. This study aims to empirically test this theory in emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachTwo measures of average higher moments have been used (equal-weighted and value-weighted) along with the market moments to predict subsequent aggregate excess returns using the linear as well as the quantile regression model.FindingsThe authors report that both equal-weighted skewness and kurtosis significantly predict subsequent market returns in two countries, while value-weighted average skewness and kurtosis are significant in predicting returns in four out of nine sample markets. The results for quantile regression show that the relationship between the risk variable and aggregate returns varies along the spectrum of conditional quantiles.Originality/valueThis is the first study that investigates the impact of third and fourth higher-order average realized moments on the predictability of subsequent aggregate excess returns in the MSCI Asian emerging stock markets. This study is also the first to analyze the sensitivity of future market returns over various quantiles.