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Zara Liaqat

Lecturer

Research / Areas of Expertise

International economics
Labor and development economics

Biography / Academic Background

I completed my undergraduate degree at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Pakistan, and went to the University of Southern California, USA, to do my master's and PhD in Economics. After completing my PhD in 2012, I started teaching undergraduate Economics at the University of Waterloo in winter 2013 and at Wilfrid Laurier University in fall 2016.

Research Interests / Ongoing Projects

My current research and expertise are in the fields of international and labor economics. I have extensively analysed the link between trade liberalization and firm efficiency, and have investigated the effect of various trade reforms on productivity, particularly in the textile and clothing industries. I have also examined several labor market topics, including the consequences of rigid labor regulations, their enforcement and other conditions facing individual firms on the likelihood that a firm will offer training to its workers. My future research goals involve continuing to develop my work on trade liberalization, labor market outcomes as well as conducting policy-oriented research in other areas of the broadly defined discipline of development economics.

Selected Publications

“When Do Firms Choose to Train? The Roles of Labor Regulations, Their Enforcement, and Firm and Industry Characteristics,” with Jeffrey B. Nugent, The Journal of Development Studies, 2016, Vol. 52 No. 2, pp. 224–241.
“Under-provision of Private Training by MENA Firms: What to do about it?” with Jeffrey B. Nugent, IZA Journal of Labor and Development, 2015, Vol. 4 No. 12.
“The End of Multi-Fibre Arrangement and Firm Performance in the Textile Industry: New Evidence,” The Pakistan Development Review, 2014, Vol. 52 No. 2, pp. 97–126.
“Trade Liberalization, Competition and Productivity Growth – New Evidence from Pakistani Manufacturing Firms,” Journal of Global Economy, 2013, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 219–247.

Contact Info:

E: zliaqat@wlu.ca

Office Location: LH 2002

Office Hours: Tuesdays, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Personal website:

http://dornsife.usc.edu/liaqat/