We have a crisis of confidence
Over the past decade, Pakistan has witnessed many multinationals rolling up their banners citing ‘unviable conditions’ – in reality, meaning unbearable uncertainty. We are witnessing a tragic threshold where flight…
Pakistan’s civil service crisis
There was a time when joining the Pakistan Civil Service was seen as the highest symbol of intellect and duty. These days, the civil service of Pakistan, once the pride…
Crisis-prone France sinks deeper into debt quagmire
The collapse of France’s latest government leaves the euro zone’s second-biggest economy lurching deeper into a morass of feeble growth, high borrowing costs and a debt burden becoming one of…
Debt crisis and SDGs
‘Today, 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health, and 2.1 billion live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on…
The flawed economics of the IGCEP
One of the ten commandments for electricity planning is ‘Thou Shalt Not Expand Electricity Supply Without Industrial Demand’. New power plants become stranded, costly monuments to poor planning without industrial…
Solar flipflops and the energy crisis
Pakistan’s energy landscape is in upheaval. The government’s recent slash of the net?metering buyback rate -- from Rs27 to Rs10 per unit -- has sparked fierce debate. Awais Leghari, the…
Macroeconomics of empty promises
The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP’s) foreign exchange reserves have dropped by nearly a billion dollars in just eight weeks, from December 13 to February 7. This decline occurred despite…
How to solve the leadership crisis
Poor countries are poor because those who have power make choices that create poverty.” This profound wisdom from Daron Acemoglu --recent Nobel laureate (October 2024) in economics and co-author of…
Beyond macroeconomics
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) epitomizes a global economic paradigm rooted in inequality with little emphasis on inclusiveness. Advocates of this model argue that some degree of inequality is essential,…
Renewable energy: solution to energy crisis
The power sector of Pakistan has remained under severe stress for more than two decades. To fill the gap between supply and demand the government introduced three Power Polices in…
