Nafees Ejaz

University of Lahore, Lahore Pakistan, Economics, Faculty Member

University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, Economics, Graduate Student

Followers

139

Following

Public Views

I am an Economics Lecturer, researcher, and practitioner specializing in Financial Economics, Islamic Banking, and Time Series Econometric Analysis. With over a decade of diverse industry experience spanning the banking, corporate tech support, and academic sectors, I bridge the gap between complex data and real-world economic insights.
My research focuses on banking resilience during global crises, women's financial inclusion, and energy market volatility amid geopolitical shocks. Notably, my work on banking performance during COVID-19 received the Best Research Paper Award from The University of Lahore and was published in the Q1-ranked, high-impact journal Borsa Istanbul Review.
As an educator and researcher, I leverage advanced quantitative toolkits to model financial trends and mentor the next generation of economists.
Core Expertise:
Specialties: Financial Economics | Islamic Banking & Finance | Policy Analysis
Data & Econometric Toolkit: Stata, R, Python, EViews, OxMetrics, and Excel
Methodologies: Time Series Econometric Modeling, EGARCH, and Quantitative Research
I welcome connections with fellow academics, researchers, and financial sector professionals.
✉️ [email protected]
Phone: +923224474341
Supervisors: Dr. Ghulam Ghouse and Dr. Aribha Aslam
Phone: +923224474341
Address: Lahore Pakistan

less

InterestsView All (12)

Uploads

Papers by Nafees Ejaz

Financial Inclusion Role in Islamic Banking of Pakistan

Review of Economic Trends, 2025

This research paper will examine the contribution of financial inclusion towards enhancing the pe... more This research paper will examine the contribution of financial inclusion towards enhancing the performance of Islamic banking with particular reference to Pakistan. Based on annual time-series data covering 2006 to 2022, which is retrieved from the World Development Indicators, the study will investigate the impact of macroeconomic variables (Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, Consumer Price Index (CPI), and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)) on the performance of Islamic banking. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is used in order to consider both long and short-run dynamics of the variables. The long-run findings indicate that GDP growth and FDI have statistically significant negative impacts on the Islamic banking performance, and CPI depicts a negative but insignificant correlation. The error-correction term validates a solid and steady adjustment process to the long-run equilibrium. The findings emphasise that financial inclusion remains a crucial driver for strengthening Islamic banking stability, especially in developing economies. The results also indicate the relevance of an effective financial inclusion model that is enforced by Shariah compliance and technological advancements to maximise the efficiency and penetration of Islamic banking in Pakistan. Some of the policy suggestions to be put in place are to increase regulatory assistance, encourage the use of fintech in Islamic financial processes, and increase accessible banking to underserved populations.

Download

Unconditional Cash Transfers and Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Pakistan's Benazir Income Support Program

Social Science Multidisciplinary Review , 2025

In the past three years, unemployment and income inequality have risen dramatically across Asian ... more In the past three years, unemployment and income inequality have risen dramatically across Asian economies. The unemployment rate and the sensitive price index (SPI) of Pakistan in the post-COVID years have been surging continuously. This particular situation in Pakistan paints a discouraging picture. Faced with these challenges, the Pakistani government has continued its Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), which provides unconditional cash transfers to women living in poverty. This study evaluated Pakistan's largest unconditional cash transfer welfare program's association between BISP and women's financial inclusion. We conducted an extensive study using cross-sectional microdata from the Punjab Bureau of Statistics (BoS) Women's Economic and Social Wellbeing Survey (2022), covering approximately 32,878 women across 36 districts of Punjab, Pakistan. We employed the Logit and Probit models to determine whether the BISP program, as an unconditional cash transfer program, motivates recipient women to achieve financial inclusion (bank account ownership). Our findings suggest that BISP has a positive impact on financial inclusion, indicating that such government programs can contribute to women's empowerment and ultimately improve their financial standing. These results offer policy-relevant evidence for governments considering similar cash transfer programs, highlighting the enduring importance of education in empowering women to access and manage bank accounts.

Download

FOSTERING CLIMATE RESILIENT URBANIZATION IN PAKISTAN INTEGRATING VEGETATION TO COMBAT ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS IN CITIES

Research Report, 2026

Urbanization is the process that can be defined from many aspects and perspectives. According to ... more Urbanization is the process that can be defined from many aspects and perspectives. According to an
American demographer, Kingsley Davis(2020), "Urbanization is a definite process, a cycle of
surrounding by which a society is transformed from an agricultural to an industrial society". The core
idea of this policy brief is from the multi-disciplinary approach, which integrates data from
environmental science studies, climate science, and economics. This approach highlights new empirical
research about growing climate change, environmental stress, air pollution, and heat waves due to
rising temperatures in Pakistan in general and in the city of Lahore in particular(Clean Air Punjab
Action Plan 2024-2034, 2024). This environmental degradation is due to low green areas, a lack of
green structural reforms with poor integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG)
principles, and lastly, poor decisions of land use in big cities like Lahore. Three important policy
directions are suggested in light of the Lahore Climate Action Plan (L-CAP)(2024): reintroducing
vegetation to control air pollution, promoting climate vulnerability-proof urban planning, heat
reduction, and integrating ESG standards into both public and private sector development practices.
The L-CAP offers a government strategic framework based on data-driven policy for the action to
create a climate-resilient Lahore by 2030.

Download

Performance of Islamic vs Conventional Banks in OIC Countries: Resilience and Recovery under Covid-19

Borsa Istanbul Review, 2022

This paper investigates the comparative performance of Islamic and conventional banks pre-and dur... more This paper investigates the comparative performance of Islamic and conventional banks pre-and during Covid-19. It uses the daily data between 2016 and 2022 of 12 Islamic and 21 conventional banks across six OIC countries; Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and Turkey. The paper employs the asymmetric GARCH type models to estimate volatility and the Chow's break test to identify structural breaks. The maximum drawdown, compound annual return, and Calmar ratios methods are used to quantify the reaction, resilience, and recovery of both. It is observed that Pre-Covid, Islamic banks performed well because they have lower drawdowns and better Calmar ratios as compared to conventional banks. During the Covid-19 period, conventional banks overtook their counterpart and took less time to recover and also hold better Calmar ratios.

Download

Performance of Islamic vs Conventional Banks in OIC Countries: Resilience and Recovery under Covid-19

Borsa Istanbul Review, 2022

This paper compares the performance of Islamic and conventional banks before and during Covid-19.... more This paper compares the performance of Islamic and conventional banks before and during Covid-19. It uses daily data for the years 2016–2022 of 12 Islamic and 21 conventional banks in six OIC countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and Turkey. The paper employs the asymmetric GJR-GARCH and E-GARCH models to estimate volatility and Chow break point test to identify structural breaks. The maximum drawdown, compound annual return, and Calmar ratios methods quantify the reaction, resilience, and recovery of both types of banks. It is observed that prior to Covid-19, Islamic banks did well because they had lower drawdowns and better Calmar ratios compared to conventional banks. During Covid-19, conventional banks did better than their counterparts, took less time to recover and had better Calmar ratios.

format_quoteConventional banks implemented significant bailout programs during COVID-19, aiding their performance and economic support.format_quote

Download

Nafees Ejaz

Uploads

Papers by Nafees Ejaz

Log In