The Chaudhry Nazar Muhammad Department of Economics, in collaboration with the Mahbub ul Haq Centre (MHRC), is pleased to invite you to the book launch of Dr. Chohan’s The Politics of Road Expansion: Debunking Misled Economic Growth Narratives.

Date: September 29, 2026

Time: 4:00 PM
Venue: LUMS Learning Institute (LLI), Academic Block, Ground Floor

For those who would like to join the event online, please use the Zoom details below:

https://lums-edu-pk.zoom.us/j/94541417850?pwd=9WvE3PYJ10MJ5jVjjU4xJW9pdyaXoh.1 

Meeting ID: 945 4141 7850

Passcode: 983396

Abstract: This book investigates how arguments for economic growth are perceived and advanced to promote road investment across the world.

In the literature, the relationship between building roads and achieving economic growth is heavily reliant on quantitative tools while ignoring the contextual details of roading projects. Using the Aristotelian concept of phronesis, the research undertakes six case studies from New Zealand, Britain, the United States, Pakistan, Brazil and Kenya. Phronesis is an intellectual virtue capable of incorporating practical problems and contextual details in everyday life. The concept was operationalised by devolving into three main questions, in which the roads policy direction, the associated processes and discursive pragmatism were explored. Detailed analysis of the following six projects has been carried out: MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway; London Orbital Motorway; Houston Interstate Highway 610; Lahore Ring Road; Mário Covas Ring Road and the Nairobi Expressway. The analysis provides the reader with a critical understanding of how roads are expanded using assertive policies without evidence of how economic growth will be achieved.

This book could be of interest to multilateral development organisations, researchers, students, policymakers and practitioners in the areas of planning, urban economy, public administration, transport economics, project management and development economics.

Dr. Babar M. Chohan is a seasoned civil servant and diplomat of the Government of Pakistan. Currently, he serves as Trade & Investment Counsellor/Head of Trade Mission at the Embassy of Pakistan, Brazil. He has previously held positions as Commissioner, Additional Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner across various field formations of the tax administration in Pakistan. He holds a PhD in Planning from Massey University, New Zealand, and an MA in Economics of Development from the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University, the Netherlands. He also holds an MA in Economics and an MSc in Applied Geology from Punjab University, Pakistan. He is a member of Pakistan’s Central Superior Service. He has extensive experience in economic planning, trade diplomacy and government administration. Some of his research articles have been published in leading international journals and conference proceedings. He also writes articles for the Pakistan-based newspaper, The Express Tribune. His research areas include economic planning, economic growth and the built environment.

Dr. Syed M. Hasan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at LUMS. His primary research and teaching interests lie in urban and regional economics and public economics. He received his PhD in Economics from The Ohio State University in 2014. His doctoral research focused on spatial policy instruments and firm productivity. More broadly, Dr. Hasan's research interests encompass sustainable development and resilient cities, with a particular focus on understanding urban challenges and policy responses.

Dr. Fizzah Sajjad is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, LUMS. Her research focuses on questions of land, housing, transport and the politics of infrastructure development in rapidly urbanizing cities of the Global South. Dr. Fizzah holds a PhD in Human Geography and Urban Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a Masters in City Planning from MIT.