Biography

Dr. Saima Sarwar, an accomplished academician and researcher with over 17 years of teaching experience and 9 years of post-PhD research expertise. She currently serves as the Chairperson of the Department of Entrepreneurship at Government College University, Lahore, and holds the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Economics.
Dr. Sarwar’s research spans a wide range of critical areas, including institutional economics, international political economy, gender and development, trade policy, and rural women’s empowerment. She has successfully supervised over 120 theses at the BS, MPhil, and PhD levels and has published extensively in Q1 international journals, with a current impact factor of 30.09, H-index of 8, and over 291 citations.
She has led and collaborated on multiple research projects funded by prominent institutions including RASTA-PIDE, UNFPA, and ORIC-GCU, focusing on topics such as judicial efficiency, public health, school dropout rates, and women’s economic empowerment.
Beyond her academic achievements, Dr. Sarwar has contributed as a keynote speaker, panelist, and evaluator at numerous national and international conferences and policy dialogues, and has represented GCU in consultative sessions with organizations like SMEDA, ADB, and SECP.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Saima Sarwar — a passionate educator, an impactful researcher, and a strong advocate for inclusive and sustainable development.

Education

• PhD in Economics, Government College University Lahore (Lahore Pakistan) 2016
• MS/MPhil in Economics, Government College University Lahore (Lahore Pakistan) 2008
• Masters in Economics, University Of Punjab Lahore (Lahore Pakistan) 2003
• BA/BSc(Hons) in Econo, Kinnaird College For Women (Lahore Pakistan) 2000

Teaching Areas

Experience

Journal Papers

• Usman Saleem Yousaf, Farhan Ali, Babar Aziz, Shahzad Hussain & Saima Sawar (2025). "Assessing the impact of renewable energy and financial development on environment quality in Asian emerging economies (AEEs)." Environment Development and Sustainability . | Impact Factor: 4.2
• Saima Sarwar & Muhammad Ihsan (2025). "Cost Of Litigation And Its Impact On Socio-Economic Decisions Of Households: A Transaction Cost Analysis From High Courts Of Pakistan." Public Organization Review . | Impact Factor: 1.7
• Farah Ramzi & Saima Sarwar (2025). "Estimating the Shadow Economy for Developing Countries: A New Insight in Literature." Pakistan Journal of Economic Studies .
• Saima Sarwar and Alvina Sabah Idrees (2025). "Evaluating Judicial Service Quality At District Courts Of Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis Using Servqual-Gap Model." Public Organization Review . | Impact Factor: 1.7
• Mehtab Arif & Siama Sarwar (2025). "Evaluating The Nexus Between Political Economy of Financialization And Trade Integration: New Empirical Evidence From Emerging And Developing Countries." IUB Journal of Social Sciences (IJOSS) .
• Saima sarwar & Faraha Naz (2025). "From Turbulence to Transformation: The Role of Circular Economy in Shaping Sustainable SME Growth." Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy . | Impact Factor: 1.7
• Saima Sarwar & Salman Nadeem Khitran (2025). "Inclusive Housing or Exclusive Access? A Qualitative Study of Pakistan's Subsidized Loan Program." International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis . | Impact Factor: 2.0
• Alvina Sabah Idrees, Saima Sarwar & Anfal (2025). "Peace matters for bilateral trade: An empirical evaluation using a gravity model for Pakistan." The Economics of Peace and Security Journal (EPSJ) .
• Saima Sarwar and Arusa Sohail (2025). "Political Drivers of Local Government Budgeting: An Empirical Analysis from Pakistan." Journal of Social and Economic Development . | Impact Factor: 1.0
• Alvina Sabah Idrees, Saima Sarwar & Rukhsar Naeem (2025). "Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve: A New Evidence on the Relationship Between Marine Degradation and Global Economic Activities." Economic Alternatives . | Impact Factor: 0.273
• Yasir Zada Khan and Saima Sarwar (2024). "Agglomerations, Urbanization and Economic Prosperity in Pakistan: A Demographic Analysis Using Ardl Approach for Time Series Data." Foundation University Journal of Business and Economics .
• Muhammad Gulzaib Chaudhary, Saima Sarwar, Alvina Sabah Idrees (2024). "Assessing the Judicial Efficiency of District Courts in Pakistan: An Empirical Evidence Using Extended Linear Programming Technique." Pakistan Journal of Economic Studies .
• Alvina Sabah Idrees, Saima Sarwar (2024). "Barriers to school retention in Pakistan: an evaluation using survival analysis." Educational Research and Evaluation . | Impact Factor: 3.3
• Waqar Ul Hassan, Dr. Saima Sarwar & Jive Lubbungu (2024). "Barriers to Utilizing Antenatal Care and Skilled Birth Attendant Services: A Study of Rural Women of Reproductive Age in Three Villages in Khanewal District, Pakistan." G²LM|LIC .
• Yasir Zada Khan and Saima Sarwar (2024). "Political economy of urbanization and economic growth in Pakistan: A demographic and geo-strategic analysis at district level." Pakistan Journal of Applied Economics .
• Saima Sarwar (2024). "Regional Institutional Barriers And Trade Outcomes: A New Empirical Evidence From Developing Economies Of Four Continents." Pakistan Journal of Economic Studies .
• Yasir Zada Khan and Saima Sarwar (2024). "• Agglomerations, Urbanization and Economic Prosperity in Pakistan: A Demographic Analysis Using ARDL Approach for Time Series Data." Foundation University Journal of Business and Economics .
• Saima Sarwar, Sadia Sharif (2023). "Assessing the Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Women Empowerment: Recent Evidence from National Survey of Pakistan (PDHS)." Pakistan Journal of Social Issues .
• Muhammad Ibrahim Saeed & Saima Sarwar (2023). "Empirical Assessment of Business Competitiveness and Income Distribution: A case of selected Lower-Middle Income Economies." Journal of Quantitative Methods .
• Adnan Habib, Saima Sarwar, Uzair Ahson & Alvina Sabah Idrees (2023). "Measuring Green Growth in Agriculture: A Comparative Analysis of World Economies." Quality & Quantity .
• Saima SARWAR and Raees ASLAM (2023). "SPATIAL IMPACTS OF ECONOMIC GLOBALISATION ON STRUCTURAL CHANGE: A Panel Data Analysis of ASEAN Member Nations." Pakistan Journal of Applied Economics .
• Qiu Lei, Weiyun Huang, Fang Zhao, Saima Sarwar, Muhammad Gulzaib Chaudhary (2023). "The Impact of Public Sector Size and Resource Volatility in Carbon Emissions: Empirical Evidence from OECD Countries." Resources Policy .
• • Usman Saleem Yousaf, Farhan Ali, Shabib Haider Syed, Babar Aziz & Saima Sarwar (2022). "Exploring environment sensitivity to fiscal and monetary policies in China: using ecological footprints as a contemporary proxy." Environmental Science and Pollution Research . | Impact Factor: 5.8
• Usman Saleem Yousaf, Farhan Ali, Babar Aziz & Saima Sarwar (2022). "What causes environmental degradation in Pakistan? Embossing the role of fossil fuel energy consumption in the view of ecology footprint." Environmental Science and Pollution Research . | Impact Factor: 5.8
• Saima Sarwar and Alvina Sabah Idrees (2021). "Impact Of Military Expenditures On The Globalization Process: A Spatial Econometric Analysis For African Region." Journal of Asian and African Studies . | Impact Factor: 0.9
• Alvina Sabah Idrees & Saima Sarwar (2020). "State effectiveness, property rights and entrepreneurial behaviour as determinants of National Innovation." Australian Economic Papers . | Impact Factor: 1.7
• Alvina Sabah Idrees & Saima Sarwar (2020). "• Entrepreneurial Behavior, Institutional Trust And National Innovation: A Macro-Level Empirical Study." Journal of Applied Economics and Business Studies .
• Farzana Kausar, Saima Sarwar, Muhammad Yasir Rafiq, Rizwan Ali and Ramiz Ur Rehman (2019). "Integrating migration, human development and remittances: an analysis of SAARC countries." International Journal of Happiness and Development .