Article Type

Article

Description

IN 1999, in my book The Economy of an Elitist State, I attempted to substantiate the argument that the Pakistani economy had been captured by a narrow elite consisting of the top one to two per cent of the population. Markets allocate resources efficiently, but only those that possess assets benefit from this efficiency. The state, therefore, has to intervene by taxing the rich and spending on those who are bypassed by economic efficiency and thus promote equitable distribution of national income. In Pakistan’s case, the markets were rigged by the elites while the state was politically controlled by the same elite for promoting their parochial agenda. Thus, the country ended up with an inefficient allocation of resources and inequitable distribution of income.

Publication Source

Dawn

Publication Date

11-10-2016

Pages

1-3

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