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Waqar Ahmed Wadho

Dr. Waqar Wadho is an Associate Professor of Economics and Director of Graduate Studies at the Lahore School of Economics. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Economics and Business (CREB), a Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP), and a Fellow of the Global Labor Organization (GLO).

Dr. Wadho holds a PhD and MS in Economics from Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France. As a researcher, he studies how firms, labour markets, social norms and local institutions shape structural transformation and economic inclusion in developing economies. His research combines field experiments, original firm and household surveys, and applied microeconometric methods.

Dr. Wadho’s research is developed in collaboration with universities, research organisations, government agencies, firms and implementation partners. He has a strong track record of securing competitive research grants from the prestigious organizations including the Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries programme (PEDL), the European Union, the International Growth Centre (IGC), Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG), and the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).

Beyond academia, Dr. Wadho has engaged with policymakers and industry leaders, and contributed to national discussions on industrial policy, education, and innovation systems. His teaching covers Economic Growth, Macroeconomics, and Development Economics, with extensive experience supervising graduate research.

For more details, visit Dr. Wadho’s personal website at: www.waqarwadho.com

CV

Publications

  • Wadho, W., & Chaudhry, A. (2026). International Standards and Export Performance: Evidence from Pakistani Firms. Journal of Development Studies
  • Wadho, W., & Chaudhry, A. (2024). Measuring process innovation outputs and understanding their implications for firms: Evidence from Pakistan. Technovation, 136.
  • Wadho, W., & Sadia, H. (2023). Ethnic diversity, concentration of political power and the curse of natural resources. Economia Politica, 40(1), 113–137
  • Asharaf, N., Wadho, W., & Shahid, S. (2023). Faultlines in family SMEs: The U-shape effect of family influence and control on innovativeness and performance. M@n@gement, 26(3)
  • Wadho, W., & Chaudhry, A. (2022). Innovation strategies and productivity growth in developing countries: Firm-level evidence from Pakistani manufacturers. Journal of Asian Economics, 81.
  • Hasan, Y., & Wadho, W. (2020). Unskilled migration, child labor and human capital accumulation of children in the presence of parental absenteeism. The Lahore Journal of Economics, 25(2), 
  • Wadho, W., Goedhuys, M., & Chaudhry, A. (2019). Young innovative companies and employment creation: Evidence from the Pakistani textiles sector. World Development, 117, 139–152
  • Wadho, W., & Chaudhry, A. (2019). Identifying and understanding high growth firms in the Pakistani textile and apparel sectors. The Lahore Journal of Economics, 24(2), 73–92
  • Wadho, W., & Chaudhry, A. (2018). Innovation and firm performance in developing countries: The case of Pakistani textile and apparel manufacturers. Research Policy, 47(7), 1283–1294
  • Wadho, W., & Ayaz, U. (2018). Government size and economic growth in an endogenous growth model with rent-seeking. Economics & Politics, 30(1), 151–179
  • Wadho, W. (2016). Corruption, tax evasion and the role of wage incentives with endogenous monitoring technology. Economic Inquiry, 54(1), 391–407
  • Wadho, W., & Chaudhry, A. (2016). Innovation in the textiles sector: A firm-level analysis of technological and non-technological innovation. Lahore Journal of Economics, 21(Special Edition)
  • Wadho, W. (2014). Education, rent seeking and the curse of natural resources. Economics & Politics, 26(1), 128–156
  • Wadho, W. (2013). Control rights, bureaucratic corruption and the allocation of resources. European Journal of Law and Economics, 35(1), 41–59
  • Hakro, N., & Wadho, W. (2006). IMF stabilization programs, policy conduct and macroeconomic outcomes: A case study of Pakistan. Lahore Journal of Economics, 11(1)

Funding and Research Grants

  • Shifting Managers’ and Households’ Attitude Toward Women Working in Factories: Role Model Firms and Information Interventions in Pakistan (2025–2026). Funded by the STEG small grant. £25,000; PI.
  • Managers’ and Households’ Attitude Toward Women Working in Factories: Role Model Firms and Information Interventions in Pakistan (2024–2026). Funded by the PEDL major grant. £110,000; PI.
  •  Community Driven Development in Rural Pakistan: Impact Evaluation of the SUCCESS Program (2017–2023). Funded by the European Union. e454,000; Co-PI.
  •  Innovation and Firm Growth in the Pakistani Textile Sector: Do Young and Innovative Firms Grow Faster? (2018–2019). Funded by the GCRF. £45,401; Co-PI.
  • Spatial Proximity, Knowledge Networks and Firm Performance: The Case of Sialkot Surgical Instrument Cluster in Pakistan (2018–2019). Funded by the Research and Development Fund. US$7,000; Co-PI.
  •  Measuring Innovation in the Textiles Sector of Pakistan (2014–2015). Funded by the International Growth Centre. £20,000; PI.
  •  Analyzing the Extent and Nature of Bureaucratic Corruption in Pakistan (2018–2019). Funded by the Research and Development Fund. US$5,000; Co-PI.
  • Allocation de Recherche, French Doctoral Scholarship (2007–2010). Ministry of Research, Government of France.
  •  Overseas Scholarship (2006). Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

Selected Ongoing Research

  • Kaleem, H, Sakakibara, A, Wadho, W, & Siddique, A., (2026). What Do Others Think? NormBeliefs and Women’s Work in Pakistan. GLO Discussion Paper Series 1786, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
  • Shifting Managers’ and Households’ Attitude Toward Women Working in Factories: Role Model Firms and Information Interventions in Pakistan. with Anri Sakakibara and Abu Siddique.
    • Downstream paper 1: Assessing the Mental Health Impacts of Structural Shift from Homes to Factories in Pakistan
    •  Downstream paper 2: Structural Transformation, Women’s Employment, and Child Development
    • Downstream paper 3: Structural Transformation and Marriage Market
  • AI Ready Faculty in Pakistani Universities. with Arnaud Chevalier, Abu Siddique, and Azam Chaudhry.
  • Misperceived Demand: Evidence from Informal Markets in Pakistan. with Philipp Lergetporer, Sebastian Goerg, Anri Sakakibara, and Abu Siddique.
  •  What Textbooks Teach About Women, with Anri Sakakibara and Abu Siddique.
  • Intra-household Information Sharing and Female Labor Force Participation: A Case of Pakistan, with Farah Imami, Abu Siddique and Anri Sakakibara.