Taxing the taxed: Income Support Levy Act, 2013
In the current budget, the government has proposed to levy a wealth tax by proposing to enact a new law.1 The object of the tax is to provide financial assistance,…
Budget 2013-14
I was not disappointed by the budget 2013-14 - not because it contained any out-of-th-box thinking or indeed any reform measures that would have changed the economy's direction in the…
The railways as a metaphor
A Fortnight or so ago, the New York Times ran a long front-page piece on Pakistan Railways (PR) by its Pakistan bureau chief, Declan Walsh. Declan, a good friend and…
The trying times of budget: Conflict of visions
Unlike all times this budget does not have to be based on number crunching. A budget is much more than merely an exercise in money terms and in terms of…
Fiscal indiscipline: the ruinous surge
Five years of misgovernance by the previous regime have not only destroyed the economy of Pakistan and damaged its institutions but also drowned the country under a deluge of debt,…
The politics of urbanisation
In relatively stable societies, economics shapes politics these are places where one can meaningfully say `it`s the economy, stupid`. Even seemingly bizarre foreign policies can be related to economics as…
Ideology of Pakistan
There have been several articles dealing either directly or indirectly with the Ideology of Pakistan. I was surprised to read an editorial in Business Recorder stating that; "General Sher Ali…
The ESCAP survey
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) launched its flagship document – the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013 (hereafter survey)…
Could the ECB be running out of options?
The European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi might be starting to run out of options to boost the struggling eurozone economy after the ECB announced on Thursday a cut in…
The ESCAP survey
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) launched its flagship document – the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013 (hereafter survey)…
