Pakistan was a typical underdeveloped state when it started its journey as an independent nation-state on 14th of August 1947, facing myriad challenges ranging from existential threat to revolution of rising expectations of the masses on the hand and becoming an independent, confident and prosperous state in the comity of nations on the other. Boldly accepting these challenges, the new state started its journey literally from a scratch. From being one of the least developed countries in the world at the time of her independence, Pakistani economy grew at a fairly impressive rate of 6 per cent per year through the first four decades of the nation's existence.
During this period, its per capita incomes doubled notwithstanding the fact that its rate of population growth never came below 3% per annum. Thanks to generous military and civilian aid in the 1960s and then in 1980s, inflation remained low and poverty declined from more than 45% to less than 20%. However this momentum could not be maintained afterwards due to less friendly external environment and inept macroeconomic management of the successive regimes during the 1990s. Rates of economic growth remained slightly above the rate of population growth and inflation crossed the double digits year after year. Consequently, poverty rose to 33%, the foreign debt ballooned to nearly the entire GDP of Pakistan, the highest in South Asia.
2000s saw the reversion of Pakistan to its military phase, again becoming a frontline state in the wake of 9/11which brought the Americans in this part of the world and with it started the usual inflow of military and civilian aid. It sustained both, the military rule and the economy which grew by the military rate of growth of more than 6/7 per cent per year, doubling the national GDP in seven years. With a phenomenal expansion in Pakistan's urban middle class, Pakistan became one of the four fastest growing economies in the Asian region during 2000-07.
Despite all these ups and downs, Pakistan is now the 26th largest economy in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity, (44th largest in terms of nominal GDP). With per capita income of US$ 4550, Pakistan occupies at 140th place on this count in the world, thanks to her burgeoning population of 200 million people. Pakistan is one of the Next Eleven, the eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a potential to become one of the world's large economies in the 21st century. By 2050, with an estimated GDP of $3.33 trillion, Pakistan is expected to become world’s 18th largest economy, according to Goldman Sachs.
However this progress is not as impressive as it looks or should have been keeping her potential. Similarly her dismal social indicators, structural anomalies and income disparities leave much to be desired.
This book is all about these attempts and U-turns, failures and achievements and so on.
Genre: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Colonialism & Post-ColonialismTheories of economic growth keep on changing with the passage of time in response to the changes in the objective realities and subjective perceptions of those propounding these theories. In the 1960s conventional wisdom advocated that the government could be the driving force behind rapid industrialization, capital accumulation was the key to rapid economic growth for which capital accumulation was the only requirement. At the same time, integration into the world was necessary for certain key products, yet it was neither necessary nor sufficient for rapid growth; hence import substitution was considered a pre-requisite for takeoff. Foreign Direct Investment was to be avoided but government borrowing was acceptable preferably from formal sources etc.
In the 1980s all these ideas were rolled back on the basis of empirical evidence. Government was no guarantee of economic success of a country; it is not solution, it is a problem as government failure is more pervasive than market failure. Capital accumulation is important but not the main determinant of economic progress. Social capital takes precedence while private sector takes lead in productive investment. Trade liberalization rather than import substitution is the key to rapid economic growth as trade brings forth efficiency gains and disciplines the domestic producers. Whatever is to be provided, be given to the private sector. Foreign borrowing by governments is dangerous; FDI is the solution. There is no big role for the development assistance etc.
However rapid economic growth of China and India, both growing with different systems during the period when there was a gradual but substantial slowdown in growth rates of the developed countries during the 1980s (“Lost Decades”) brought a paradigm shift in the thinking about the development process.
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Dutch
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Already translated.
Translated by Mohamed Zaim
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Author review: Zaim translated my book "Political Economy of a Post-Colonial State" into Dutch. It is a very good translation, done in less than a week yet keeping the essence of the original intact. Grateful |
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French
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Already translated.
Translated by TETKEU Leonard Necker
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Author review: TETKEU Leonard Necker was kind to accept my request for translating my above book and I am glad that I chose a right person. He was not only very meticulous in his appraoch but also kept me informed about the progress , pointing out the grammatical and sp[elling mistakes. Grateful Sir. Regards. Shahid |
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German
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Already translated.
Translated by Reimund Kube
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Sara
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Author review: Excellent and faithful translation of my book Political Economy of a Post-Colonial State-Economic Development of Pakistan was done by Sara. |
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Luís Navega
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Author review: Luis Navega translated my eBook titled "Political Economy of a Post-colonial State-History of Economic Development of Pakistan" into Portuguese. It is indeed a very faithful and I must say an excellent translation. Best thing was that he kept on informing me about the progress of the translation-very rare . Extremely grateful, Luis |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by 123 123
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Author review: Cristian Márquez Romo translated my book "Political Economy of a Post-Colonial State: History of Economic Development of Pakistan" into Spanish. He is a very methological translator and kep me informed about the progress throughout. I am lucky to have him chosen for the translation. |
