FBR, IMF & revenue targets
The federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 assigned an ambitious target of Rs. 7.470trillion to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which includes both direct and indirect taxes. The…
Struggling to get IMF’s booster shot
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) is a multilateral lender with a membership of over 195 countries, from advanced economies to the bottom of the economic ladder. It was created to…
IMF policy needs a serious rethink
The first major jolt to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) thinking regarding pursuing austerity policy came in the inability of austerity policy to neither allow eurozone area to reach needed…
Social dimensions and IMF deals
Political economists believe that economic growth is important, but it alone cannot help reduce poverty and inequality, marring prosperity, unless the right choices and unbiased selection of priorities are made…
IMF’s macroeconomic projections for FY23
The IMF staff report on the seventh and eighth reviews of the EFF with Pakistan contains a detailed set of macroeconomic projections of the economy of Pakistan for 2022-23, and…
IMF, floods & economy
“Pakistan’s economy has been buffeted by adverse external conditions, due to spillovers from the war in Ukraine, and domestic challenges, including from accommodative policies that resulted in uneven and unbalanced…
A cruel IMF programme
‘The pandemic triggered a dramatic increase in public debt in developing economies, from 54 to 65 per cent of GDP between 2019 and 2021. At least 25 developing economies devote…
IMF and the ‘pseudo’ national govt
With the regime change completed in Pakistan, the geo-politico-economic situation is so fluid and intertwined that any attempt at offering crystal ball predictions can fall like deck of cards once…
Budget FY23 and IMF’s programme
“Among the most difficult problems faced by developing countries is that of balancing a budget that is swollen by the cost of development. This problem is enhanced both by the…
The IMF surcharge is unfair
Pakistan is one of 14 countries adversely affected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans which trigger surcharges that as per Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate, and Gallagher, Professor at Boston…
