In 2015 the Punjab Board of Trade and Investment and the Pakistani Ministry of Commerce reached out to Locus Economica for assistance on revisions to its special economic zones (SEZ) program. Working in coordination with the World Bank Jobs and Competitiveness Program, we led workshops with Pakistani government officials, consulted with stakeholders on the context and priorities for the zones program, and thoroughly reviewed and gave recommendations on Pakistan's current SEZ policy, laws, institutions, and plans for specific sites.
Bringing Trade and Jobs to Terrorism-Affected Areas in Pakistan through Reconstruction Opportunity Zones
In 2009, when the U.S. government sought to establish Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in Pakistan, they turned to Locus founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier. Jean-Paul provided legal advice on the proposed measure, which would have provided manufacturers in designated industrial estates with the ability to reach U.S. markets tariff-free....
Uncovering the Barriers to Investment in Pakistan
The major problems with an economy aren't always what they seem. A common belief in Pakistan was once that the country's written statutes and regulations weren't the problem, but the government agencies implementing those laws. However, when Locus CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier led the World Bank's "Pakistan Administrative Barriers to Investment Study" from 2003-2007, he demonstrated that this wasn't the complete story. ....