Leaks and challenges—I
The selective criteria of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in listing countries with strategic deficiencies are the main hurdles in curtailing the movement of illegal flow of funds. The…
The economics of Corruption
Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing the opening ceremony of the second Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Beijing on "Shaping a Brighter Future" highlighted five impediments to achieving sustainable…
Fiscal policy and economic growth
Fiscal policy is an important tool of modern governments to steer economy in right direction. All governments, specially in emerging markets, endeavour to align their fiscal policies in the manner…
Popular economics
The upside of everyone believing that they are experts on the national economy, arguably, is that the economy remains in the limelight since everyone is talking about it; the problem…
Ghost kitchens’ boom in Asia as pandemic sparks huge demand
In an industrial unit on the outskirts of Taipei chefs are plating meals that will never be served in a restaurant: welcome to the world of “ghost kitchens”. Even before…
Taxes and social democracy
“The perks culture has also held real estate development hostage for decades as officials seek to reward themselves through plots. Government sponsored developers such as the DHA and Coop societies…
District heating and cooling
Except Karachi, Pakistan has extreme cold and hot weather in the respective seasons. With rising standards among higher economic classes, comfort requirements are increasing. In Pakistan, power demand goes down…
US housing boomed in 2020 even as pandemic slammed economy
The US housing market boomed in 2020 even as the coronavirus pandemic caused one of the worst economic contractions of modern times, as Americans took advantage of low borrowing rates…
Bolstered by pandemic, tech titans face growing scrutiny
Accelerating the transition to an ever more digital existence, the coronavirus pandemic has tightened tech giants’ grip on billions of customers’ lives. Governments and users are belatedly coming to terms…
Problem in economics
The release of the new Social Security Trustees Report, coupled with a New York Times article on what strikes me as a rather silly debate on inequality, led me to…
