Fiscal responsibility
By the end of the 1990s, high levels of debt in developing countries caused by the pursuit of irresponsible fiscal policy had begun to receive greater attention from policy makers.…
Budget 2025-2026: No vision beyond fiscal survival
The federal budget for financial year 2025-26 presented on June 10, 2025, in the National Assembly, has laid bare both the ambitions and contradictions of Pakistan’s fiscal strategy. The total…
Towards a sound fiscal policy
There are four essential elements of a sound fiscal regime. The first is to grow the income base from which tax revenue is derived. This is achieved by a well-aligned…
Towards fiscal & digital reforms
Pakistan has faced significant challenges in balancing the distribution of power and fiscal responsibilities between its federal and provincial governments. The landmark Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 [18th Amendment] effective…
The national fiscal pact
A new important piece in the legal domain of Pakistan’s public finance management system is the National Fiscal Pact (NFP), which reportedly all four provinces have now signed onto. The…
NFC: call for fiscal reforms
In an analysis of the 7th NFC Award (‘Fiscal realities: A case for NFC reform’, March 20), published on these pages, I showed that provincial governments collect a small fraction…
FY23 budget: need for fiscal reforms
“He who wishes to serve his country must have not only the power to think but the will to act” – Plato The coalition government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM),…
Evading responsibility
OFTEN a crisis or tragedy encapsulates all that is wrong with the way the country is governed. The Murree tragedy laid bare multiple fault lines — negligence and mismanagement by the authorities,…
Fiscal federalism
The stagnant fiscal space and mounting debt repayment requirements pose enormous challenges to long-run fiscal sustainability. Apart from budgetary space and debt obligations, the rules of the game defined under…
Fiscal policy and economic growth
Fiscal policy is an important tool of modern governments to steer economy in right direction. All governments, specially in emerging markets, endeavour to align their fiscal policies in the manner…
