Faculty / School
Faculty of Business Administration (FBA)
Department
Department of Economics
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2019
Book or Conference Proceedings Title
Seventy Years of Development: The Way Forward
ISBN/ISSN
9789693531732
First Page
7
Last Page
32
Publisher
Sang-e-Meel Publications
Place of Publication
Lahore
Keywords
Asia, Sustainable development
Abstract / Description
Pakistan’s economic performance over the last 70 years can be divided into two distinct phases. In the first phase, covering the first 40 years since its independence, the country was one of the best performing economies among the developing countries with recorded average annual growth rate of 6 percent, far ahead of India and Bangladesh. The second phase which started in 1990 and spanned over the next 25 years witnessed Pakistan becoming an economic laggard, trailing behind other countries in the South Asia region. This chapter explores the possible explanation for this divergence in economic and social outcomes. Five different explanatory hypotheses for the decline of the economy, oft cited in the literature as well as preponderant in popular opinions were tested against empirical evidence. None of these hypotheses could be validated. The study, then, carefully examined other theoretical and empirical evidence and came to the conclusion that it was the differentiation in the institutional capacity and behaviour, which provides a relatively more persuasive answer to this puzzle. Looking beyond these 70 years, it is argued that a selective and incremental approach for restructuring of at least two dozen key institutions responsible for security, growth, equity and transparency and accountability would be politically feasible instead of across the board reforms in order to put Pakistan on its past trajectory.
Recommended Citation
Husain, I. (2019). Economic Highs and Lows of Pakistan: Analysing the Last 70 Years. Seventy Years of Development: The Way Forward, 7-32. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/faculty-research-series/146