Book Title: Economy, Welfare, and Reforms in Pakistan published by Oxford University Press
This book comprises seventeen (17) essays written by different authors on subjects like macroeconomic management, sub-national economy, prospects and challenges related to the financial market, socioeconomic challenges in Pakistan, and regional integration.
Dedicated to Dr. Ishrat Husain (b. 1941), a world-reputed economist and an ex-Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, the publication has been edited by Dr. Vaqar Ahmed and Maaz Javed, associated with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) as Executive Director and Researcher respectively.
The book is split into five parts each containing six, four, two, two, and three essays under captions enumerated above. In his foreword, Tariq Banuri, ex-Chairman Higher Education Commission of Pakistan observes that Ishrat Husain is a clinical economist, as it were, who in the words of Johannes F. Linn of the World Bank, has ‘consistently advocated a pragmatic and nuanced approach to development policy’ which he applied and pursued successfully in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
He goes on to say that ‘A number of people have remarked upon Husain’s success in several different careers: civil servant, World Bank economist, central banker, academic administrator, and governance czar … these are not radically different careers but a unified trajectory for a special breed of economists who, like doctors, seek to combine theoretical knowledge with clinical experience.
Abid Q. Suleri has introduced Dr. Ishrat Husain in these words: ‘He strives for a progressive, humanitarian, and exploitation-free society and does not only confine to diagnosing the problem but also proposes a solution. He outlines financial, educational, and judicial reforms to set Pakistan free from the elite capture. In his view, only these reforms can liberate Pakistan from the stranglehold of a small elite and ensure that the benefits of economic growth are shared by most of the population, particularly those in the lower income and social strata.’
AS Chairman of the National Commission for Government Reforms (NCGR), Mr. Suleri discloses that Dr. Ishrat Husain proposed a three-tier solution to the governance-related problems i.e. restructuring of key institutions of economic governance, reorganising the federal government, and introducing reforms in civil services.
Johannes F. Linn, Dr. Ishrat Husain’s 20-year long erstwhile colleague at the World Bank, observes in his well-deserved tribute that the experience gained by the latter at the international bank offered him ‘many great opportunities to contribute with his insight, energy, commitment, power of persuasion, and exquisite human decency’ besides the ones ‘to grow and to learn in his manifold capacities, in the many countries he worked in, and in the wide range of challenges he faced in managing people, serving clients, and pursuing the best possible pathways for reform’.
That experience also enabled him ‘to devote his next 20 years and beyond to the service of his country in various capacities, again with the goal to achieve the best possible outcome for the people he is committed to work for, and especially the most vulnerable among them’.
Co-editor Vaqar Ahmed in his introductory note outlines the genesis of the book. According to him it is ‘an effort to compile essays on the state of economy, welfare, and reforms in Pakistan’ amid the initial days of Covid-19, with two goals in view viz., one ‘to honour the untiring efforts of Dr. Ishrat Husain and the other to present a narrative which could highlight post-pandemic priorities of Pakistan’s fast-evolving economy’. In view of the post pandemic confusing economic scenario, the editors of the festschrift (a collection of writings published in honour of a scholar) adopted a three-pronged approach to decide upon and design the specific themes of its chapters.
First, areas of immediate concern for the national economy were identified. Second, the list was narrowed down to focus on themes Dr. Ishrat Husain contributed in various capacities in and outside of the country. Third, a good amount of time was spent in searching for competent authors fully acquainted with challenges, opportunities and Dr. Husain’s gigantic contribution.
‘Most chapters are a result of the contributor’s own research, an updated literature review, and at places in-depth interviews with the relevant stakeholders.’ The topics debated in the essays contained in the book are self-explanatory, like macroeconomic policy and management amid Covid-19 (Vaqar Ahmed); debt management in Pakistan: challenges and prospects for future (Ali Salman and Beenish Javed); monetary policy reforms in Pakistan (Zafar Hayat); foreign investment climate in Pakistan (Bushra Yasmin); the role and importance of institutions in development (Shakeel Ahmad); role of public sector development programme in economic development (Hamid Mahmood); envisioning inclusive growth in Punjab (M. Aman Ullah); towards shared growth: perspectives from Sindh (Naeem Uz Zafar); envisioning inclusive growth in Balochistan (Abdul Salam Lodhi); envisioning development in Gilgit Baltistan (Saranjam Baig); the capital markets of Pakistan (Faheem Sardar); Islamic banking and finance in Pakistan (Ahmed Ali Siddiqui); women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion in Pakistan (Hadia Majid); the state of entrepreneurship in Pakistan (Muhammad Arif); Pakistan’s trade with Central Asia (Ghulam Samad and Ghulam Nabi); leveraging CPEC for industrial development (Liaqat Ali Shah); and regional trade integration (Maaz Javed).
The book is therefore meant to generate a discussion focused on ‘the current economic issues, challenges faced by various economic sectors and regions across the country, and possible solutions keeping in view an uncertain global and regional milieu’ besides highlighting Dr. Ishrat Husain’s role in economic policy making and economic management in the country.Â
