The deep and wide slowdown
The economy of Pakistan has experienced a sharp slowdown in its GDP growth rate in four out of the last eighteen years. These were the years 2000-01, 2001-02, 2008-09 and…
To IMF or not to IMF?
In its first six months, the Imran Khan government has been unable to resolve the question of whether to go or not to go to the IMF. All manner of…
Out of control
Let’s begin with the mini-budget. Our minister for finance has come up with some innovative incentives for the export sector whereby there will be duty concessions on a list of…
Alarm bells
Alarm bell number 1: Never in our history have our net international reserves stood at negative $11 billion. Are we facing an economic crisis? An economy facing an “economic crisis…
‘Homegrown’ reform agenda for IMF programme
The government is negotiating a Programme with the IMF. That the IMF would have stepped in as a lender of last resort was never in doubt, if only to secure…
Bad policy
Good farm policy works for rural people by stabilizing prices, encouraging the growth of rural communities, and helping farm families deal with natural disasters. This last point is particularly relevant…
The way forward for economy
Pakistan has taken 14 International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout packages since 1980 - some were completed (including the Extended Fund Facility 2013-16 though it left the country worse off than…
It’s the political economy
Today’s Pakistan should have been a far better place than it was in 2008 and 2013. But, despite some very marginal improvements, we are far from moving towards inclusive and…
Confusion reigns as banks scramble to price FX
How much are you worth? For the FX and bond analysts covering the world's biggest markets, how much to charge for their time and research remains in question just a…
The sharecropper and his revolution
I may be a loser, but I am a good loser. I admire those who have made it big in life, leaving people like me coughing in the dust stirred…
