Power tariffs: Role of competition and transparency – I
This appears to be an electricity generation tariff setting season, for at least three major tariff proposals are being reviewed by Nepra, apart from smaller applications. It may be useful…
Foreign investment
Four features of Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s budget stand out. First, thanks to its obsession with reducing the fiscal deficit, the budget fails to raise social-sector expenditure – just when…
Literacy and skills
A Very large number of Pakistanis are illiterate and unskilled. If literate they are barely so, and if skilled, most have poor skills. Given the demographics of a young nation,…
Not a perfect world
TheIran-Pakistan pipeline is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Islamabad and Tehran have signed an agreement to press ahead with the project and Tadbir Energy has offered…
The informal economy
New estimates indicate that Pakistan’s informal economy is larger than previously approximated, and is expanding at a rapid pace. On the other hand, the formal sector appears to be on…
Our ‘Renaissance class’
You, probably, have never heard the name Qamar Yourish. When he lived amidst poverty-stricken people on the streets of old Lahore, the rich culture of which inspires you to write,…
MFN status for India now
ThePakistan government had resolved in principle to give India MFN status by end of 2012. Regrettably, it has sought an extension in the implementation of this decision, an outcome that…
Canadian hedge funds’ growth dreams face tough reality
Canadian hedge funds will likely remain more boutique than big box in the future, as lack of scale, poor returns and difficulty accessing big investors weigh down growth. Helped by…
The state and economic development
The role of the Pakistani state in the country’s economy has recently come under scrutiny - in reference to the ongoing electricity and natural gas/CNG crisis. The argument usually put…
A BJP-driven U-turn?
Looking at the U-turn in Indo-Pak relations, January seems a strange month. The change perplexed everyone, because throughout 2012, a perception was built that these belligerent neighbours had finally accepted…
