Trickle-down trouble
There is no mystery why the prime minister showed scant interest in the report to reform our economy by Mr Stefan Dercon – the latest in the long line of…
Hooked on hopium
Though commonly used by stock traders to describe the tendency to keep holding a stock as it plummets in value, the word ‘hopium’, a portmanteau of hope and opium, nicely…
‘Do more’, IMF asks Pakistan
The Pakistan budget 2024-25 appears to have largely satisfied the IMF (International Monetary Fund), prompting it to move on with the 25th IMF programme, to once again bail the country…
PML-N’s volte face
It is great to see the pragmatism shown by Mr Ishaq Dar earlier this month in the matter of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Taking out – or trying to take out…
Keeping children in school
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s education emergency declaration is laudable. But declarations are not results. And for millions of poor illiterate people, the emergency means educational opportunities not in the long…
The privatization dilemma
When you hear senior government officials declaring repeatedly that ‘business is not the business of the state’ you can tell they are not just wrestling with the problem: what do…
Govt’s quest for FDI: the way forward
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been crucial in supporting developing economies to participate in global trade by facilitating the flow of capital, talents, and knowledge. The flow of foreign capital…
Replacing hopium with reality: Part – II
Pakistan revises its energy prices on a fortnightly (fuel, LPG and LNG), monthly (power) and biannually (gas) basis. This habit needs to be replaced by an approach that smoothens the…
Hopium – II
Energy pricing fortnightly (fuel, LPG and LNG), monthly (power) and 6 monthly (gas) needs an approach that smoothens the impact and reduces the risk without causing political despair every fortnight,…
Real time access to info and data base
The nature of documentation of Pakistan’s economic environment can be classified into three broad segments as under: 1. Transactions undertaken by the documented sector which are also reflected in ‘tax…
