Rosy promises galore
October witnessed two major events: National Debt Conference jointly organised by PRIME and Business Recorder, and an International Investment Conference organised by the government; the first highlighted how public debt…
Botswana, Africa’s diamond, risks losing its sparkle
When environmental scientist Bakang Bogopa graduated first in his class from the University of Botswana two years ago he did not expect that his first job would be moving furniture…
The fourth review
The mandated fourth quarterly review under the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will be cobbled with the fifth review as per the IMF website. The reason: delay…
It’s the economy, stupid!: Scots focus on money issues
This week's Scottish independence referendum is a lot about the economy, experts say, as voters mull the outlook for their currency, oil revenues, jobs, national debt and EU membership. Scots…
Costly economic fault lines
By May 2013, when the PML-N government assumed office, Pakistan’s economic problems had multiplied and become very complex due to the mismanagement of the economy over a long time. The…
What went wrong?
The modern state is based on a social contract between the citizenry and the state with mutually agreed rights and duties. Citizens pay taxes and submit to the iron hand…
Going solo, the BJP scores again
The Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as the single largest party in the Maharashtra and Haryana assemblies, reconfirming its status as the principal pole or central point of reference in…
Beyond the politics of rallies
It is the season of political rallies. There is no shortage of adjectives for the organisers, and enthusiastic media persons are ready to exaggerate the success of each rally in…
Notes for the finance minister
We have multiple distress signals coming out of the mismanaged economy of Pakistan. A shrinking base of direct taxation and expanding underground economy, rising prices, stagnating output, widening income inequality,…
Power sector woes
A Common refrain in Pakistan today is that the role of the middle class and industry has been reduced to earning enough to pay their monthly electricity bills so that…
