‘New’ State Bank of Pakistan
The way the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (“Bill,” when enacted: “Act”) was railroaded through the Assembly and the Senate to appease the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with…
State of the economy
The first six months of 2022-23 have witnessed considerable uncertainty about country’s economic prospects. Foreign exchange reserves have dwindled sharply from $9.8 billion in end-June 2022 to only $5.6 billion…
Resilient Pakistan
Pakistan has successfully conducted the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan with the support of the UN in Geneva to garner international support for the rehabilitation of flood victims. The…
Pakistan: a state and its citizens in state of denial – II
History cannot be undone; however, the complacency that crept in can somehow be brought to the surface. Given the external debt and perennial shortfall in current account each year, Pakistan…
The state of the economy in 2022
If Covid-19 in 2020 was a nightmare, then we have been continuously transitioning from one nightmare to another. Generous fiscal stimulus in the rich world, accommodative monetary policies the world…
Pakistan still feels your loss
As December 27 approaches, we are filled with the same grief and hollowness that left us bereft 15 years ago. Mourning any loss doesn’t only occur in the moment, or…
IMF, the ‘lifeline’ of Pakistan
Since the creation of Pakistan, its policy makers, politicians, and the rulers, all have been struggling to manage its balance of payments, but with the few exceptions, Pakistan had no…
Pakistan on the brink again
Pakistan’s time is running out. For decades, the country has run a system that needs near-constant external assistance. The system doesn’t deliver prosperity outside a tiny elite. Real incomes are,…
A failing state
As a result of massive corruption, Pakistan today is virtually in a state of economic bankruptcy, although this has not been officially admitted. Banks have stopped opening letters of credit…
A state of dread
Following the ideas of Keynes, some Keynesian economists make a sharp distinction between risk and fundamental uncertainty. Risk refers to the probabilistic character of the world and our ability to…
