The ESCAP survey
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) launched its flagship document – the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013 (hereafter survey)…
The only caveat
The UNDP’s Human Development Report 2013, ‘The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World’ is a vindication of the assertion that the future of world economic growth…
The ESCAP survey
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) launched its flagship document – the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013 (hereafter survey)…
World Bank pushing poverty eradication, education goals
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has a goal of "virtually ending" extreme poverty by 2030. "I have no doubt that the world could end extreme poverty within a generation,…
Quaid’s vision of foreign policy
The Founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned the newly independent Muslim state's foreign policy to be one of "peace with all, and enmity with none". Pakistan must…
Rent-seeking and governance
There is no denying the penetration of rent-seeking in the country. It is reflected in multiple forms and manifestations. The elite ie landlords, industrialists, top civil and military bureaucracy are…
Education & manifestos
It is heartening to note that the election manifestos of three of the main political parties — the PPP, the PML-N and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf — not only mention education…
On tax amnesty
Amnesty is a one-time sovereign pardon of punitive legal proceedings offered to a specific class of lawbreakers. Unlike punishment, which is often retributive-cum-reformative, amnesty is reformative in nature, establishing the…
Tax the rich
The Human Development Report 2013 just released by the United Nations Development Programme highlights the rise of the Global South, comprising 130 developing countries, as the main drivers of the…
New leaders, old problems
The world is watching closely as China`s 12th National People`s Congress prepares to confirm the appointment of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang as the country`s president and premier respectively. China`s…
