Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

1997

Keywords

Policy credibility, Economic reform, Pakistan

Abstract / Description

The economic situation of the past several months in Pakistan has elicited two different kinds of responses. There are either those who blame the economic managers of the country for their "ineptness" and mishandling of the situation or a second group that holds the international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank responsible for all our economic woes. This article will attempt to demonstrate that economic policy outcomes in today's world are more complex than the above simplistic analysis suggests. Most outcomes are determined by the interaction of a host of political, social and economic factors, the cultural milieu in which the institutions work and the external conditions that impinge on them. But the underlying difference between the countries that have been successful in eliciting positive or favorable results for their population and those who have failed to achieve so lies, despite many variations, in the simultaneous adaptation of policies and institutional settings in a consistent and credible manner over a longer period of time. What can we, in Pakistan, learn from the experience of successful countries that have avoided serious economic difficulties and promoted equitable growth and better living standards for their people?

Comments

Publication date not stated. IH0096

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