Development 2.0--by Nadeem Ul Haque

Lack of social mobility is very visible in Pakistan. Political power also seems to be coagulated as the chances of getting elected are tied into traditional wealth, land and family status. Power, privilege and wealth seem to remain in the family in Pakistan. A few years ago a principal of an elite school told me that the students there were disinterested in serious studies as daddy’s wealth was certain, and their elite status was guaranteed in society through inheritances. Discussing this with various members of our privileged class, it becomes immediately apparent that hard work is not an aspiration. Power and privilege is a right in our society, not something to be earned through hard work. An entitlement culture prevails not just in agriculture but also in business and politics. Examine the elite and you find large cohorts who even if educated have never really used that education. Their lives largely have been of leisure made possible through inheritances and sources o...

Those who develop an expertise in the mess of Pakistan, must understand the abuse of power and its associated rentseeking that prevails in Pakistan. One important example of that is the GOR Estate. Let me explain. (For the perceptive there is much to be learnt about the political economy of Pakistan though this example). Rentseeking Colonial Style To house the officials that were shipped out of England, the colonial masters—the British Government—built a housing estate (using about a 100 acres of land) about 10 miles from what was then the City of Lahore and called it the Government Officers Residences Estate (GOR Estate). Understandably, the colonial managers built in some luxury for themselves including some clubs sporting facilities and parks for their exclusive use. And for all this the public exchequer was feely used. The homes could only be retained for the tenure of one’s position. Maintenance rules were clear and simple and could not be flaunted. One would have thought th...

In Pakistan with or without elections, the status quo of rent-seeking elite through degenerated colonial institutions continues. Soon after any change whether elected or through a coup, our leaders begin power plays, VIP pleasures, and of course amassing personal fortunes. It seems to me that democracy needs to be strengthened. And this can be done through a better design of a constitution. Democracy is obtained though a system that balances and distributes power so that the community at every level controls lawmaking and the administration, execution and adjudication of laws. Surprisingly dysfunctional governance has not produced an informed body of knowledge on constitutional reforms. By default the army and the politicians are left to think up constitutional amendments. Both of whom are neither equipped to think nor are their incentives aligned with increased democracy. And we have seen the mess they have made of the constitution. Perhaps, it is time civil society carefully looked a...

Share this story! Masood Hasan's article in the news reproduced below is one of the first attempts to show how the nature of elite rentseeking. No only do they continue to get subsidies for elite country clubs but they also run those institutions in teh most corrupt manner possible. We must do much more to expose this dark side of Pakistan's elitism and rentseeking. A number of deep rooted political economy issues need to be exposed through this effort to generate an understanding and a momentum for reform. On Wednesday, October 21, 2009 Masood Hasan wrote "Those who lament the better days of the past that are no more could perhaps be forgiven for being nostalgic. One refers to the garish and cheap Club that is now the successor of what was once an elegant establishment at the Montgomery Hall in Lahore's Lawrence Gardens. That Club where people of good breeding and class were to be found is long gone, replaced as so oft...