The cost of confused macroeconomic policy
It seems to be a chicken and egg situation: inflation will fall first; only then will State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) lower its policy rate, or the policy rate will…
Economic scorecard: Part – II
In my last article (‘Economic scorecard’, June 25, 2019), I had reviewed the economic performance during fiscal year 2018-19. In this regard, some more information has now become available. This…
Growing economic disparities
IN an earlier article, this writer had argued that the widening inequality of incomes and wealth provides a more coherent explanation of the structural character of the large current account…
The PTI’s economic strategy
Let us compile a list of common ‘irritants’ and ‘disincentives’ in our economy. Costly raw material and stuck sales tax refund are the major irritants for exporters. Reporting fatigue is…
Economic reforms
The dawn of the new century provided an exceptional opportunity to fix the tax system. The military government did not face the lingering political uncertainty that characterised the tenures of…
Economic reforms: Part-XXIX
The results of the 2017 census were an eye-opener. The population explosion triggered during the previous three censuses has continued, albeit at a slower pace. Relative to the last census,…
Economic reforms: Part – XVII
At the outset, let’s consider some basic facts about the state of public finances in the 1980s and the challenges that the country faced during this period. The average expenditure…
Agents of change
In the economic pretext, democracy is a mechanism of interest satisfaction. The middle class is more prone to and in favour of this system because it enables representation, participation and…
The marriage between politics and economics
Heads you lose, tails I win is the axiom ostensibly used by Ishaq Dar-led Finance Ministry in all policy as well as specific technical decisions against the growing number of…
Petroleum and products: The economics behind taxes
It is extremely unfortunate that government after government endorses the seriously flawed tax system in the country irrespective of its commitments when in opposition; and cites higher tax collections as…
