As part of its energy sector reforms, the Government of Pakistan plans to reduce spending on electricity subsidies to 0.3-0.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by mid-2016. The reforms will alleviate...
This policy paper examines recent poverty trends in Pakistan. Official statistics continue to indicate strong poverty reduction through 2010-11, thanks in large part to policies and investments that boosted...
The problems of high fiscal deficit, high current account deficit, and high inflation faced by the government of Pakistan are linked to Pakistan's weak tax revenue effort. There are concerns that revenue...
Pakistan's rebound from the global financial crisis has been slow and fragile, and unless it changes course swiftly, it could face the prospects of a second balance of payments crisis in less than five...
This paper revisits the identification of the binding constraints to investment and growth in Pakistan by rigorously applying the growth diagnostic framework. It has a central finding: Pakistan's economy...
This paper is divided into four sections. The first provides a quick overview of the current political and economic situation, focusing in particular on the stagnation of growth and deepening macroeconomic...
This paper reviews Pakistan's agriculture performance and analyzes its agriculture and water policies. It discusses the nature of rural poverty and emphasizes the reasons why agricultural growth is a critical...
This policy paper focuses on the incentive framework for Pakistani agriculture, with emphasis on trade and price policies. It first presents a synthesis of major trends in the performance of the sector...
This paper reviews Pakistan's recent trade performance, its trade policy and trade costs. Different dimensions of trade performance growth and orientation, diversification and sophistication are assessed...
This paper assesses labor market trends and outcomes in Pakistan over the past decade. It shows that despite a high rate of employment growth, labor market outcomes have been disappointing: most jobs have...
This policy paper explores the relative importance of the software regulatory barriers to growth in Pakistan. Such software barriers have been identified as part of the major constraint in the Framework...
This paper explores stylized facts of Pakistan's growth patterns. It identifies the short-lived predominant character of its increasingly scarce growth accelerations, the average volatility of the growth...
This policy paper is motivated by the Government's 'Pakistan: framework for Economic Growth (FEG) 2011' which places weak corporate governance at the top of the 'software' constraints to growth. The efforts...
The almost unanimous passage of a landmark consensus constitutional amendment "the 18th Constitutional Amendment" restored Pakistan's constitution to its original intent of a decentralized federation of...
Punjab is Pakistan's most populous and economically vibrant province. Its fiscal health, therefore, is crucial to the fiscal stability and economic development of Pakistan as a whole. By end-June 2011...
Cities' development matters to Pakistan. It is central to economic growth, job creation and quality of life. This is also one of the core themes in the 2011 Government of Pakistan Framework for Economic...
This paper analyzes the public infrastructure trends and gaps in Pakistan, especially by placing the Pakistani experience in an international context. It examines the major sectors of public infrastructure...
This paper quantifies the contributions to distributional changes observed in Pakistan over the last decade. In contrast to methods that focus on aggregate summary statistics, the method adopted in this...
This paper complements the World Bank's recent report on poverty by providing some additional information on inequality. In contrast to reports that analyze measures of inequality of income or wealth (such...
This paper complements the World Bank's recent report on poverty by providing some additional information on inequality. In contrast to reports that analyze measures of inequality of income or wealth (such...