Shahrukh Wani is an urban economist at the International Growth Centre (IGC) based at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. In this role, Shahrukh supports evidence-based urban economic policy reforms in Africa and South Asia through producing economic analysis and providing tailored support to policymakers. His work includes collaborations with policymakers in Afghanistan, Uganda, Pakistan, and Zambia on policy areas such as land and property taxation, fiscal and administrative decentralisation, infrastructure provision, and urban governance. Shahrukh also regularly contributes opinion pieces on economic policy to various outlets, with a focus on urbanisation in developing countries and public policy in Pakistan.
Shahrukh was born and raised in Rawalpindi and is a citizen of Pakistan. He studied at the University of London and the London School of Economics (LSE).
He tweets @ShahrukWani and can be emailed at s.rukh@lse.ac.uk.
Webpages: Profile on IGC | Profile on Oxford
Highlights
Policy Publications
Building authorising environments for fast-growing cities
with Paul Collier (Oxford), Edward Glaeser (Harvard), Tony Venables (Manchester), and Astrid Haas (AfDB)
COVID-19 and taxes: Policies for the post-pandemic recovery
with Anders Jensen (Harvard), Nick Wilkinson (IGC), Moussa Saab (IGC), Oliver Harman (IGC) and Farria Naeem (IGC)
with Hina Sheikh (IGC) and Oliver Harman (IGC)
Lectures/Presentations
University of Oxford’s Challenges of Government Conference.
31st October 2019. Moderator.
Government of Punjab and the International Growth Center.
1st September 2019. Co-organizer, Speaker and Moderator.
Federal Board of Revenue, Pakistan.
3rd March 2020. Invited Presentation.
Institute of Business Administration (IBA). Karachi.
5th Oct 2020. Guest Lecture.
UK Built Environment Advisory Group (UKBEAG) and the UN-Habitat for Prosperity Fund’s Global Future Cities Programme.
4th Feb 2021. Presenter.
Global Commentary
October 2019. Photo (c) John Cairns
NEW: Interview by the Digital Future Society on global urbanisation
February 18th, 2021.
Devolve more power to cities: they will need it more than ever.
with Astrid Haas. October 22nd, 2020.
What is stopping developing countries from taxing more?
August 12th, 2020.
with Paul Collier and Vicky Delbridge. June 23rd, 2020.
with Solly Angel, Patrick Lamson-Hall, and Oliver Harman. July 3rd, 2020.
Urbanisation in Fragile Societies: Thinking about Kabul
with Oliver Harman, Freshta Karim, and Shoaib Rahim
with Oliver Harman
Building an Effective Authorizing Environment for Cities that Work
with Astrid Haas
Pakistan Commentary
Dawn, November 24, 2020.
Why Pakistan’s new plan to fix the bureaucracy won’t work
with Sameen Mohsin. Dawn, September 10, 2020.
Sugar and the making of a rentier economy
with Adeel Malik. Express Tribune. May 8, 2020
Dawn. November 23, 2019.
Dawn. September 26, 2019.
Why Pakistan will go to the IMF again, and again and again
Dawn. October 16, 2018.
Imran Khan envisions a Pakistani welfare state. Is it possible?
Dawn. August 28, 2018.
Has Punjab just taken a step towards unlocking the potential of its cities?
Dawn. August 21, 2019.
How do you pay for a programme like PTI’s Ehsas?
Dawn. July 3rd, 2019.
Reforming Pakistan’s tax system: Evidence-based suggestions
December, 3rd 2018
For too long, Pakistani schools have been a means to provide jobs, rather than education
The Guardian. June, 27 2017
In Media
On Pakistan’s COVID19 response
Dawn News. Television Interview. June, 27 2020
On Pakistan’s social spending push
Arab News. Newspaper Interview. Jan, 26 2020
On Imran Khan’s first year in office
BBC Urdu. Newspaper Interview. Aug, 16 2019
On décentralisation in Pakistan
Dawn News. Television Interview. May, 10 2019
On the IMF program in Pakistan
Dawn News. Television Interview. May, 13 2019
Dawn. Newspaper Interview. Sep, 9 2018
On urban governance in Pakistan
Indus News. Television Interview. May, 16 2019
Podcasts
Pakistonomy. Video Podcast. Oct 29 2020
Pakistan@100 by World Bank and LUMS.
Thinking South Asia by LSE. Audio. January 2020.
