Institutions and economic performance: Election Outlook-XIX
There is a long list of economists-from Adam Smith to W Arthur Lewis and from Douglas C North to Niall Ferguson-who have strongly highlighted the importance of institution building for…
What lies ahead
An imperfect electoral exercise copied from western models, our democracy has very little relevance to the local environment or the ‘genius of the people’. The ‘first-past-the-post-system’ does not ascertain the…
The challenge of change
Late Abul Kalam Azad, the Indian education minister, was a genius and an encyclopaedia of knowledge of both eastern and western civilisations and cultures, political figures, history, literature, etc. His…
Dear Mian Sahib
Sir, here is a partial list of government-run entities: Lesco, Gepsco, Iesco, Fesco, Mepco, Hesco, Qesco, Genco-1, Genco-2, Genco-3, PIA, Pakistan Steel, Pakistan Railways, PTV, Pakistan Agricultural Storage, Utility Stores…
Smoke signals from the GHQ
The western media, like its counterpart here, has a morbid tendency to churn out Pakistan-related analyses that are often speculative and, at times, verge on the sensational. Earlier in the…
Not asking for the sky
So the big day is here. The right thing to do is to go out and vote. Shelve scepticism for today at least. You`ll have five long years to rekindle…
Our rooms and their streets
Use your brain before May 11 – this meme, one of many that are doing the rounds on the Pakistani blogosphere in the run-up to the general elections, comes as…
Get agrarian
Land reforms and the imposition of tax on income derived from agriculture, which is presently exempt in the majority of countries like Pakistan, are two issues that attract a lot…
The post-US order
The US loomed large during Pakistan’s election campaign season as leaders pounded their fists, promising an end to American meddling in Pakistan, a return to sovereignty and a refusal of…
New policy on drones
President Obama’s speech at the American National Defense University last Thursday attracted a great deal of attention and analysis. It is particularly important for us in Pakistan to understand exactly…
