Imperfect democracy
Holding parliamentary elections in about 60 days from a standing start, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) says that ‘local bodies’ polls cannot be held soon for various reasons. Informed…
Merit vs quotas
Economists, as a rule, do not like quota systems. They view all kinds of quotas – import quota, export quota or any other sort of quota used for the rationing…
Rethinking local government
Thanks to the Supreme Court, the provinces have been forced to introduce local governments under Article 140-A. Punjab introduced its Local Government Bill on July 26, 2013. The purpose of…
Civil society’s failures
Economists know about what they call ‘market failure’ as well as ‘government failure’ in a situation where neither institution as a whole, for a number of well-recognised reasons, has been…
The village
What socio-economic changes have taken place in the last two decades in a typical village in Punjab and what have been the major drivers of such changes? What are the…
Education: no vision
Estimates of out-of-school children go up to 25 million in Pakistan. Through the inclusion of Article 25 (a) in the Constitution three years ago, the state acknowledged that fiveto 16year-olds…
Manipulative economics
Economists have steered clear of behaviour in attempting to analyse economic doings. Yet at the heart of the action is the work of humans. The economic structure and functioning of…
Changing concept of security:a design perspective
The decline of "penal welfarism" is significant along with the shift from the change occurring in rehabilitative to punitive ideals in criminal justice politics. The end of a system of…
Small manufacturers bet on Detroit brand despite bankruptcy
For nearly six decades Detroit's story has been one of relentless erosion of its once mighty manufacturing base, but even as the Motor City faces a long bankruptcy a clutch…
Politically correct but…
The federal government is all set to introduce a constitutional amendment bill to extend the system of representation of different regions in appointments – popularly known as the quota system…
