Analysing Development: Economic Trajectories of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh
Faculty / School
School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)
Was this content written or created while at IBA?
Yes
Document Type
Conference Paper
Publication Date
2023
Book or Conference Proceedings Title
Sustainable Development Policy Institute’s Twenty-sixth Sustainable Development Conference
Conference Name
Light at the End of the Tunnel: Hope in Times of Despair
Conference Location
Islamabad
Conference Dates
23 November 2023
First Page
41
Last Page
48
Place of Publication
Islamabad
Keywords
Economic Trajectories,Pakistan,India,Bangladesh,Development trajectories
Abstract / Description
During its first 40 years, Pakistan was a star performer. Many young men and women, accustomed to hearing only doom and gloom on social and electronic media, might not realise the remarkable journey this country has undergone. At the time of Partition, Pakistan had no industrial base - just a single cement factory in Karachi - and received nothing from the reserves of the Bank of India that should have been allocated to it. The country lacked even the basic resources, such as pens and pencils, to start government operations, and it struggled to pay salaries. Yet, despite these challenges, Pakistan became one of the top ten performers in the world over the next four decades. The economy grew by 6% to 6.5% annually, poverty fell from nearly 75% to 35%, and the standard of living significantly improved. During the same period, Bangladesh separated from us in 1971, but from 1971 till 1990, their economy was flat. During those 40 years, the Indian economy was growing at just 3%, which was only half the rate of Pakistan’s economic growth. So, Pakistan’s per capita income was much higher than both India and Bangladesh. What’s particularly remarkable is that this period saw Pakistan endure five major shocks. One of the most significant challenges was the rehabilitation of nearly eight million refugees from India. In a country of 32 million people at the time, this meant absorbing a population equal to one-fourth of the country under extremely difficult circumstances. The second was, we had a war in 1965 with our neighbour, which is eight times bigger than Pakistan; and we were able to preserve our freedom, integrity, and security against a big neighbour. The third was a tragedy that we lost half of our country, which was the separation of East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh. The fourth shock was nationalisation of our industries, our banks, our insurance companies and educational institutions, which set us back. In a report from the 1970s, the World Bank highlighted that Pakistan’s manufactured exports in 1969 were higher than those of Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. This is particularly impressive for a country that had no industrial base in 1947.
Recommended Citation
Husain, D. (2023). Analysing Development: Economic Trajectories of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Sustainable Development Policy Institute’s Twenty-sixth Sustainable Development Conference, 41-48. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/faculty-research-series/130
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