A tight macroeconomic policy stance and its repercussions
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is its latest monetary policy statement (MPS) increased policy rate by 150 basis points to 8.75 per cent, stating, among other things, that ‘risks related…
The cost of confused macroeconomic policy
It seems to be a chicken and egg situation: inflation will fall first; only then will State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) lower its policy rate, or the policy rate will…
Need for a more balanced policy emphasis by Pakistan and Argentina
Pakistan and Argentina have somewhat similar macroeconomic, and growth consequences, whereby although the extent of inflation rate was much more in the case of Argentina, yet both countries practiced significantly…
Economic policy and central bank independence
Unfortunately, economic policy globally is settled on very unsettling fundamentals, and rather than fixing this, the blame for high level of inequality and increasing absolute poverty that this Neoliberalism oriented…
What sustainable macroeconomic stability?
The fall in inflation (to be precise CPI inflation) to single-digit in August –stood at 9.6 percent – meant that it was almost after three years that inflation had come…
Economic policy, federal budget and role of opposition
‘…the existence of the opposition is ‘nearly the most distinctive characteristic of democracy’. In parliamentary democracies, since government and parliamentary majorities often coincide, the opposition is expected to function as…
Climate change, austerity policy, and IMF programme
Pakistan is likely to enter into an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme – which is different from a standby arrangement (SBA) programme since, in addition to targeting macroeconomic stabilisation, including…
Need for revisit of deeply-rooted neoliberal economic policy mindset
In his visit to China, with PM and some other cabinet members, the finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, while addressing a ceremony in China highlighted that Pakistan will be going into…
Primary surplus, fiscal deficit, over-board austerity policy, and existential threats
International Monetary Fund (IMF) wishes government to have primary surplus, which means that before paying interest payments the country’s expenditure should be less than its revenue. Expenditure constitutes non-development (or…
The macroeconomics of electricity tariffs
In Pakistan, the landscape of power tariffs is shaped significantly by the framework of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and is directly connected to macroeconomics. Under these agreements, the costs associated…
