Development 2.0--by Nadeem Ul Haque

Inept leadership, perpetually looking for shortcuts has been begging for aid for most of our history. The result: problems and debt both pile up while donors do all manner of experiment here and leave a mess behind. Our leaders run to Saudi Arabia on a quarterly basis, begging for oil and aid, seldom getting any. Meanwhile Saudi funds have free rein to ‘advocate’ radical Islam in Pakistan. Other donors have also learnt to experiment with policy in a country where leadership is asleep and ready to sign anything for a few million dollars. Photographs appear in papers on a daily basis of our leaders sitting in some ceremony with junior aid officials. In a subtle manner the donor establishment says that our officialdom including ministers is at par with junior employees of donors.   What do we expect when begging is our only policy? Used to be a time when money was given for building a Mangla or a Tarbela.   Now donors have learnt that their money can buy much more wh...

Lord Keynes in a famous statement said that “Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back” It is not surprising to know that nowhere is this statement more true than in Pakistan. We are really a sucker for this so called “best practice” never even questioning the possibility that new thinking may have overtaken such “best practice”. Now we are into designing the most expensive public transport system of metro-buses stretching 20+ miles across the city without thinking of options and without even a discussion on a proper feasibility. In a rush to build these we have generously committed public funds in a plethora of contracts that represent future guarantees and commitments of the exchequer. Could there have been other approaches? This was never considered. ...

Here everybody is an economist! Everyone carries their shopping list of what needs to be done. I often get long lectures from opinionated people who obviously use the same ideas at dinner parties and official meetings (why are they called to official meetings and allowed to hold forth?).In a loud voice and with full conviction they argue “ it is not rocket science! ” All we need is “ Get the basics right! ” As if these are arguments. But no matter the audience (especially arrogant officialdom) buys their line. My question “ what are the basics? ” is often drowned out! We all know what the basics are without actually talking about it. This is how economics is done in Pakistan. After much effort, I find out what the basics are in the minds of these philosophers. I learn that their basis are mere wishes for in increase in revenu es, exports and growth. Makes it easy! Does it not! We wish all the good things and call it economics. For sixty years Plan after Plan as w...

The tragedy with economics is that everyone is an economist. At gatherings there are several people who are pontificating on how the economy would pick up if only we would make sure that everything works well. Economics to these people is just wishing—just say all that you wish should happen and expect it will. So fix the economy and all will be well is the usual prescription I hear. Our education system has not taught them tautologies! Such speakers will say in one breath, build Bhasha, Kalabagh and several other dams and several coal based plants and then import LNG, educate all, export more, expand industry and agriculture especially horticulture, develop more infrastructure. These speakers will not stop for a minute to think that most of these are objectives or wishes of things to happen. To make these happen, we must think of processes on how to make them happen, the instruments that we have at hand if any to make them happen, financing if required, and most important of ...