Floods, debt, and SDRs
Pakistan is facing unprecedented floods of a profoundly catastrophic nature. While 3 million livestock have died in the flood-hit areas, the other mainstay of peoples’ livelihood in the shape of…
Calamities, debt crisis, growth: prospects – I
Natural disasters such as floods can have detrimental effects on growth as they depress both supply and demand, and require substantial resources to mitigate the negative consequences for economic activity.…
Floods, food & debt crises, and 77th UNGA session
The United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA’s) 77th Session from September 13-27 comes at a very crucial time for Pakistan, as the country suffers from unprecedented floods, while it was already…
Soaring public debt
The latest estimate of the stock of public debt of Pakistan by the SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) as of end-March 2022 is a staggering Rs 44.4 trillion. In effect,…
How to solve the debt crisis
A previous article (Real clear economics, BR, 24 Mar 2022) pointed out that governments of Pakistan have borrowed far more than the people, as ultimate borrowers, can feasibly repay. This…
The rising public debt burden
The public debt of Pakistan consists of the domestic and external debt of the government plus debt owed to the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Table 1 below shows that it…
External vulnerability index of countries
An External Vulnerability Index (EVI) has been constructed perhaps for the first time to highlight the variation in the risk among countries in meeting their external payment obligations. This also…
Serious debt distress facing developing countries
Many of the developing countries are net importers of oil whose price has been rising, only recently to a seven-year high of above US$ 90 per barrel. A February 4…
Payment due: Pacific islands in the red as debts to China mount
Just over a decade ago, deadly riots in the capital of Tonga, Nuku'alofa, destroyed much of the small Pacific nation's central business and government districts. Out of the rubble, the…
Dealing with ‘debtocracy’
Total debt servicing increased by around 57 percent during FY 2018-19 compared with last fiscal year which was driven by higher domestic interest payments (on account of rise in domestic…
