Article Type

Article

Description

Several questions are frequently raised about governance reform in Pakistan: Why are institutional reforms needed? What good can they bring to the country? Why is it so difficult to get them implemented? This article addresses these questions, explaining that governance reforms are structurally complex, long-term in nature, and must be politically driven, as they entail difficult choices requiring electoral accountability. The author examines the fundamental tension between the short-term imperatives of electoral politics and the compulsions of good governance and prudent economic management, arguing that democratic governance can improve only if institutions dealing with security, basic public services, and justice are strengthened and made effective, efficient, and responsive to citizens.

Publication Source

Narratives

Publication Date

10-1-2021

Pages

29-30

Notes

Published in the thinktank section on "Reforming Institutions" in Narratives magazine, October 2021. The writer bio states he is a former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, who till recently was the adviser to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms, with a distinguished career at the World Bank for over two decades. IH0056

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