Issues in Pakistan's Economy

This book is about understanding Pakistan's structural transformation over six decades in a political economy framework. The author examines how and where such transformations have taken place, in the economy, society, in class and gender relations, in manifestations of consumerism and culture, and in other ways. He assesses Pakistan's trajectory of economic and political development, and focuses on an economic and social history of Pakistan, using a political economy framework to examine the nature of this structural transformation. This book follows the narrative of the evolution of Pakistan's social, economic and even political dispensation over many decades, highlighting key developments and events. As has happened so many times in Pakistan's history, unintended consequences have shaped developments. Yet, social and economic change has also been somewhat anticipated and predictable, giving rise to relatively more certain outcomes. The immense growth of urban populations, a middle class, and a buoyant informal sector, alongside the breakdown of state authority and of state institutions, have been unfolding almost expectedly. The previous trend of the 'urbanization of everybody', seems to have morphed into an 'urbanization with informalization', with the co-movements of urbanization and informal relations of production and exchange dominating social and political interactions. What this means for subsequent development remains uncertain. Issues in Pakistan's Economy: A Political Economy Perspective, will interest serious scholars of Pakistan's economic history and its developments, as well as those who seek to understand how social and economic processes have an impact on numerous outcomes and forms of structural transformation, and how state and society evolve in a political economy perspective.Preface to the third edition ; Preface to the second edition ; Preface to the first edition ; List of figures, graphs, and maps ; List of tables ; Introduction ; PART 1: AGRICULTURE ; 1. Understanding Pakistan's Structural Transformation: 1947-2014 ; 2. Is Pakistan Feudal? A Historical Account of the Development of Agriculture in Pakistan ; 3. The Green Revolution and Land Reforms ; 4. The Nature and Direction of Agrarian Change ; 5. Agriculture: Critical Issues ; PART 2: INDUSTRY AND TRADE ; 6. The Process of Industrialization in Pakistan I: 1947-77 ; 7. The Process of Industrialization in Pakistan II: 1977-2013 ; 8. Key Issues in Industry in Pakistan ; 9. Balance of Payments and Trade Regimes ; PART 3: FISCAL POLICY ; 10. Resource Mobilization and the Structure of Taxation ; 11. Debt and Deficits ; PART 4: DEVOLUTION AND FISCAL FEDERALISM ; 12. Local Government and the Political Economy of Decentralization ; 13. Fiscal Federalism in Pakistan: Emerging Dynamics, Issues, and Prospects ; PART 5: MONETARY POLICY AND FINANCIAL AND CAPITAL MARKETS ; 14. Financial and Capital Markets ; 15. Monetary Policy, Savings, and Inflation ; PART 6: NEO-LIBERALISM, STABILIZATION, AND MACROECONOMICS: FROM ESAFS TO PRSPS TO SBAS-1988 TO THE PRESENT ; 16. Structural Adjustment Programmes: Composition and Effects ; 17. The IMF and Structural Adjustment Programmes in Pakistan ; 18. Macroeconomic Developments: 1998-2013 ; PART 7: THE SOCIAL SECTORS: INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE ; 19. The Social Sectors I: International Comparisons, Education, Population, Urbanization, and Housing ; 20. The Social Sectors II: MDGs, Gender, Environment, NGOs, Institutions, and Governance ; 21. The Social Sectors III: The Health Sector and the Health-Poverty Nexus ; PART 8: POVERTY AND INEQUALITY ; 22. Poverty: Trends, Causes, and Solutions ; 23. Regional and Income Inequalities ; PART 9: POLITICAL ECONOMICS ; 24. The Political Economy of Neighbourly Relations ; 25. War, Destruction, and Aid ; 26. Political Economics: Class, State, Power, and Transition ; 27. A New Political Economy? ; Selected Bibliography ; Index