Resume

Safiya Aftab has graduate degrees in Economics from Quaid e Azam University, Islamabad and the London School of Economics and Political Science; and Public Administration from Harvard University. She has been the recipient of both the Overseas Development Assistance Shared Scholarship Scheme (ODASSS) scholarship (awarded to 50 candidates annually, from amongst all Commonwealth countries) for graduate studies in the UK, and the Fulbright scholarship for studies in the US.

Ms. Aftab has had varied professional experience, including permanent staff positions with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the UN World Food Program (WFP), consulting (both as a freelance consultant and with Hagler Bailly Pakistan, a consulting firm specializing in energy and environment issues), and in research (with the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute). She has provided research and data analysis support on macroeconomic papers, many of which have been published internationally; undertaken consulting assignments on a range of economics and environment related issues, involving primary data analysis in addition to review and analysis of secondary sources; and has co-authored a book on Pakistan’s economy. She has lectured at Pakistan’s Civil Services Academy and at LEAD Pakistan, a training program for mid-career professionals affiliated with LEAD International.

Ms. Aftab’s research interests include the analysis of growth and poverty, fiscal and financial reform and public service delivery, and competitiveness issues.   She has a strong personal interest in human rights, transparency in public institutions and judicial reform, and is interested in exploring the linkages between these and macroeconomic issues.