Pakistan has one of the world’s largest copper and coal deposits
Pakistan risks going deeper into debt and dependency at expense of citizen welfare and business progress
Ireland and India lead with $236 billion and $111 billion each in exports
While decision-makers make vacuous claims and city folks spread despondency, my constituents quietly struggle to make ends meet
A successful industrial policy would bring about a continually evolving comparative advantage in the economy
In my recent columns, I have stressed need for overhaul in government of Pakistan’s approach to economy
Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is futile
Government’s approach to spending has reduced the economy’s capacity to grow
Our troubles though are not of the IMF’s making but the outcome of political choice
While companies are entitled to profit, it must not come at the expense of the economy
Issue is too complex and seized by too many interest groups to lend itself to resolution
Never before in recent decades has Pakistan been in such a state of crisis. Our economy, politics and society are in disarray.About the economy, the...
Recently, a minister faced much flak for asking Pakistanis to cut their tea intake by one cup a day. The reaction should come as no surprise, in a...
Recent news has kept us stirred up with the ups and downs of our deal with the IMF. We are at a stage where taking on debt, not for a project but to...
The first two parts in this series discussed why we keep falling into crisis situations, and the need for the economy to grow. Low public and...
The first part in this series discussed why we keep falling into crisis situations. It avers that the economy does not focus on growth. Low public...
It is time to look beyond Budget 2023. The government’s chosen goal for the budget, despite the clamour and possible changes, is to avoid...
It won’t be easy to manage the massive economic mess that the country faces. The problems have built up over many governments and can be addressed...
There are many developments, external and internal, that Pakistan must manage with skill and finesse.Externally, the rivalry between the US and...
There is nothing more important today than the lives of Pakistanis and survival of businesses. Helping them should be the clearly stated goal of the...
There is an overload of talk about the pandemic but not too many answers or even the right questions being asked. The lifting of the lockdown was...
Part one of this series dealt with health and welfare issues. Let’s now turn to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.The economy was already...
A crisis compels introspection. My hope is that the pandemic will force us to rethink the government's role in Pakistan, as an agent of change and...
The virus is a test of how well states are run. It is not without reason that East Asia’s response is better than in other parts of the world. On...
The pandemic has something to say to all of us. Its most clear message is that humans must change the way they live. UN Secretary General Guterres...
Our knowledge of history, economics, and much more owes a lot to the works of Ibn Khaldun. With his usual keen eye, he said that “Government is an...
Is more debt a cure for high-debt economies? That is the conundrum faced by most distressed economies.In recent years, Argentina and Greece have...
Past governments have claimed that Pakistan will soon become an ‘Asian Tiger’ or that CPEC is the game changer we were waiting for. Yet, the...
This is the second of two columns on the subject of improving government performance. In the first column , I discussed why we must improve...
In his recent bestseller, 'Factfulness', the late Hans Rosling shows us how much better the world is now than it was before. Many welfare...
In the last few months, I have shared my views on a number of development topics. With so much expectation attached to a new government, it was an...
It seems that the warnings about the frailty of our energy supply are mostly true. And though successive governments have pledged to fix the sector,...
With public finance in disarray for decades, it is only right for the government to find ways to fill the gap between revenue and spending. One...
In finding the right mix for long-term economic growth in Pakistan, we may look also at the role of public investment and its main instrument, the...
It is time to atone again for our profligacy. While we will soon know whether or not Pakistan enters into another IMF agreement, there are more...
Long-term GDP growth should be at the core of Pakistan’s economic policy. Though not an ideal measure of wellbeing, GDP at least shows a...
The balance of payments crisis has been a regular feature of our economy. What we need to see is why it keeps happening. While, at present, the...
