The writer is a former finance secretary
World GDP is around $80 trillion. Global debt, both public and private, is around $255 trillion. So the world is leveraged more than three-times its...
Nothing is more important while aiming to mitigate economic disruption, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, than to fashion a unified response...
The global turmoil triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has brought a mixed bag of opportunities and dangers. The massive fall in oil prices has the...
In a remarkable development, the IMF has announced a staff-level agreement for completion of the Second Review under the EFF for Pakistan.The IMF...
The IMF Mission for Second Review under the three-year Fund programme, concluded its work last week without reaching a staff level agreement.The...
Before we review the economic data, let us examine public perceptions. On Monday, January 27, 2020, Gilani Foundation/Gallup released a business...
The monetary policy has divorced itself from the real sector. The interest rate and the exchange rate have been subordinated to a single goal:...
The prime minister is assuring people that 2020 will herald an era of growth and jobs. He has said that 2019 a difficult year for the country as it...
The economy continues to present a contrasting picture between stability and recession. The most significant sign of stability is the stemming of...
The signs of economic stability have strengthened. The most pressing challenge of current account deficit , with implications for the country’s...
It is hard to find a parallel in the past on differing perceptions about the state of the economy as we see today. Analysts and generalists are...
A number of developments in the economy make a case that early signs of stability and turnaround may finally be in sight.The economic conditions...
What is the state of the economy? Most ordinary people, media commentators etc are quite despondent about its present condition and future...
Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh addressing a press conference on October 12.. Advisor to the PM on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez...
Unless some rearguard actions are taken, the economy is all set to face a deepening recession. Consider the following facts which point to...
The base of an index plays a critical role in its measurement. The longer a base is retained, the more distant it becomes from the start. This is...
Prime Minister Imran Khan shows sporadic interest in economic management. One can count on one’s fingertips how many times he has spoken...
News reports have indicated that the prime minister has asked his economic team to draw up an economic revival plan. This is a surprising turnaround...
Economists are awestruck by the data on central government debt released by the central bank last week. Roughly, the debt has increased from Rs24...
Given the unusually sharp slow-down in the economy, it is natural to ask whether there are ways in which some course correction is warranted so that...
The first month of the new fiscal year is over. After three years it is the first fiscal year when an IMF programme is in place.High hopes were...
The world economy is facing a variety of threats. For one, its growth is subdued. Inflation is well below the historical trend. International trade...
FY2018-19 may go down as one of the slowest years in recent economic history. Even when one takes into account the fact that there was a need to...
In a curious development, Egypt started its Fund programme in 2016 just as Pakistan was successfully concluding its last programme .And now, as...
In my last article , I had reviewed the economic performance during fiscal year 2018-19. In this regard, some more information has now become...
As the fiscal year 2018-19 is drawing to a close, a full picture is emerging about how precariously the key economic balances are faring and whether...
In our last article , while terming the budget as helpful to stabilize the economy, we had concluded as follows: “The budget is a good statement...
After giving two mini-budgets since last August, the PTI government finally got a chance to present its full budget to the National Assembly on...
The economic situation is presenting a mix picture. If on the one hand the implementation of programme conditionalities is getting traction, on the...
It is curious to observe different responses from economists regarding the efficacy of the IMF programme in retrieving the dwindling fortune of the...
One week after the IMF announced a staff-level agreement on a $6 billion, 39-month programme to support Pakistan’s economic policies the economic...
The country has reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a three-year programme. There were some last minute differences which were...
What would be the contours of a framework that would enable the establishment of a Treasury Single Account . To begin with, let us point out that...
We now turn to a key economic reform that has eluded policymakers for a long time. This is related to the establishment of a ‘Treasury Single...
The new World Bank biannual report, Global Economic Prospects , carries an ominous sub-title ‘Darkening skies’. It is sombre reading as it...
The Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act was passed in 2017 but had remained dormant for want of rules for nearly two years. The prime minister...
It seems the government is finally reaching an understanding with the IMF to provide a three-year facility to support a programme of economic...
Before we close the subject of fiscal federalism, we discuss the implications of the 7th NFC Award and the resulting state of fiscal affairs in the...
We now turn to the main features of the 7th NFC Award. After agreeing to a set of issues that the NFC were to consider, working groups were...
The next NFC was constituted on July 24, 2009. It was in the backdrop of a major political transition. The decade-old military rule, directly and...
Returning to our series on economic reforms, we now discuss the Musharraf Award of 2006. This was in some ways comparable to the awards given by the...
With the close of February, eight months of the fiscal year have been completed. The emerging numbers for this period are not very encouraging....
The government has launched a new scheme for mobilisation of foreign exchange resources – the ‘Pakistan Banao Certifications ’ with maturities...
The 1997 NFC Award was not too old before another military intervention led to the imposition of emergency in the country and disrupted the work of...
The opportunity of mid-course economic correction provided by the second mini-budget was missed. Accordingly, it seems no significant corrective...
For more than a month, there was a clamour over the arrival of yet another mini-budget, the third fiscal effort in the fiscal year. Curiously, when...
The 1990 NFC made another curious recommendation, which was not part of its original TORs, but based on a reference made by the Council of Common...
Taking a break from our series on economic reforms, let’s reflect on some important developments affecting the economy. Few data announcements...
Continuing our discussion on the NFC Award of 1990, the provinces demanded a significantly larger share of the divisible pool, and more. They wanted...
The 1975 NFC Award was the first under a constitution made by a constituent assembly after Independence. Unfortunately, the democratic process would...
