Productivity with workers’ well-being

Policymakers’ efforts to raise productivity for export-oriented economic growth have not achieved any meaningful success, as the country has remained primarily focused on producing low value-added goods in demand in developed economies. In the process, we have built an import-oriented economy on the brink of default, prompting a call by relevant experts for productivity-led growth. The economic woes have also induced some companies and segments of the private sector to take initiatives to boost productivity through on-job training of workers and by taking care of their well-being. An across-the-board increase in productivity in the country — especially in industry and agriculture — is the only option to manage a turnaround in the economy. This was the considered view of the speakers at a workshop on ‘APO [Asian Productivity Organisation] vision 2025 — Inclusive, Innovation-Led Productivity in the Asia-Pacific,’ held in Islamabad recently. Pakistan’s average productivity growth was a mere 1.5pc from 2010 to 2020, according to a study by Pakistan’s Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). The data from 1,321 listed and non-listed firms, divided into 61 sectors, was used to estimate productivity growth. Creating more resilience in the economy means getting together more participants in the game, not just allowing a small number to hold power According to the research report, high productivity growth sectors were services or tech, and those with medium to low and negative growth were manufacturing.