Issues in Pakistan's Economy

by S. Akbar Zaidi

This book is the main text for post-graduate courses on South Asia's development, economic history and on its political economy. For researchers on Pakistan's economy, it is the key source for reference, and covers a huge and diverse array of data, literature reviews, commentary and
analysis.

Genres: Pakistan, Economics, Current Affairs, Nonfiction

542 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 2000

Reviews

[Shahid Raja · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read only one book on the political economy of Pakistan, then read Issues in Pakistan Economy written by Akbar Zaidi. You may not agree with few of his assertions ( i.e. Pakistan is no more an agricultural economy, or feudalism never came to India/Pakistan etc),yet you cannot help appreciating the depth of his knowledge and the insight he provides. It is an exhaustive source of information for researchers on Pakistan's economy and covers a huge and diverse array of data, literature reviews, commentary and analysis.

[MadZiddi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few social science books I purchased as a student from my pocket money (wasn't prescribed text). The four stars are because if you compare it to a Western text on economy and the social sciences. But if you consider the scholarship standards in Pakistan this book probably deserves a 6 star because if we compare it to certain other parallel texts such as Khwaja Amjad Saeed come across as scribbled notes.
One of the marvelous things is that Akbar Sahib has put in new assertions about the very paradigm of Pakistan's political economy and argued them vociferously. For example the assertion that the rural economy is more capitalist than feudal runs contrary to existing thought. Similarly he has argued that today's Pakistan is more urban than rural with larger settlements having all the signs of urban establishments than rural.
A quote attributed to Newton goes like if I have seen farther than others is because I have stood on the shoulder of giants. This is true for Zaidi Sahib as well because he has quoted many important earlier works in detail, especially one in particularly Rashid Amjad's The Management of Pakistan's Economy 1947-82. In other places,, he has included some of his columns that he used to write for Dawn. In fact it seems, the book springs from the collection of his columns and the rest of text with all the figures seem to have been added later on.
However not everything that was written in the first edition has stood the test of time. For example he has himself countered his earlier assertion that the IMF and World Bank are responsible for the economic mess we are in. Perhaps these ideas were in rage then when he was writing this book at AERC in the late 80s and early 90s so the author was perhaps taken away by the current , so to speak. But it in a country where often social science scholarship is done to justify rather than direct public policy, such book which seeks to do just the opposite is rare. The second edition is a testament of just that.

[Nosherwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

S. Akbar Zaidi

[Zainab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not an economy student but I read this book out of curiosity because when you hear so much about budgets and economy round the year, you want to know what the fuss is all about.

The book is very interesting. It gives a lot of detail regarding Pak economy by breaking it into sections w.r.t the rulers. So we have Ayub era, Bhutto era, Zia era and so on. The author provides interesting insights and data to back himself up. The best part is his hesitation in providing you with a solid yes and nos as answers. He provides you with both sides and leaves it up to you to decide whether it was a good era or bad. The author also goes the extra mile and provids the readers with extra reading material in the forms of columns, articles, excerpts from reports and debates about the issues relevant to the chapters. I greatly appreciated those parts as they saved me from further searching terms and articles on the internet.

So why I gave it 4 stars? The book is written for economy students so he didn't bother himself up with defining certain economy terms. Understandable as he is an economist and these terms come natural to him so he might not have recognized those terms might be new to a layman reader. Sometimes he explains but sometimes I would have to google the terms to know what he is talking about. That's the only complaint I have. Please know that book is written in a very easy language and is not like a standard textbook thick worded paragraphed collection, it is just he forgot to explain few terms. Otherwise, it's the best book of economy I have read so far and I had no idea about economy before picking it up.
Rest assured, this book is very interesting and it will definitely leave you more enlightened about Pakistan's economy. I would highly recommend it.

[Wasim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Issues in Pakistan's Economy

[Zarmeen Lakhani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audited the course from Dr. Akbar Zaidi and read all his articles and this book. His approach towards political economy and current affairs can proliferate interest of any individual.

[Humayun Zafar Ladhuka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Issues In Pakistan's Economy highlights critical economic issues that Pakistan is facing since its inception. From being an agrarian economy to being on capitalism' cart, Pakistan has gone through many phases of ups and downs. The country was once considered an economic role model in the South Asia. It's booming economic growth was an example for countries like South Korea, which followed its footsteps. However, the breakdown of the country into two separate states was a huge blow for its economy. The failed socialist experiment of Mr Bhutto was also disastrous. What followed next was the onslaught of terrorism, IMF, corruption, and political instability.

This was an overview of the political side of this book. NOW, the book emphasises the importance of different crops and industries for the economy of Pakistan. It also explains reasons for dismal performance of the banking sector. Furthermore, international trade and domestic trade has also been explained in the book.

Pakistan has a key strategic location and by utilising its resources to fullest, it can become the Asian Tiger that it has always dreamed. The book enlists mutiple ways of fighting corruption, correcting the banking system, and how agriculture and industry can go hand in hand to achieve high levels of economic growth.

Overall, it's a fabulous read to know about the arduous journey of Pakistan's Economy. No other book of such sort is available in the market as I think no one has written such a detailed book on the economy of Pakistan.

However, the statistics provided in the book should be revised as these are limited. The revised edition of the book should also includes era wise detailed study of Pakistan's Economy since 2008 as a lot has changed since then.

Once these changes are done, this would be a fantastic read for everyone.

[Giya Kanwal]

controversial points sap

[M Rizwan]

y

[Areeba Asim]

i want to read this book

[Syed Ali]

it good

[Sher Ali]

SALAM Sir
i want to read your books i am a student of Economics of Karachi Universit

[Qamar Virk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a best book on Pakistan Economy.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book specially the chapters on agriculture and industrial development of Pakistan

[Asad Ali]

I am a student of BS(hons) of Accounting and Finance .Economics of pakistan is my subject that,s why i need this book because my fellow said me that this book is authentic and help me in finding best material about issues in pakistan economy.

[Shumail Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really want to read this book

[Tehzeeb Chishti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

[Athat · Rating 5 out of 5]

How may I read it it is not opening

[SAJID KHAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used in my Research Topic very useful book.

[Yoreed Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well ok

[Saad Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Warda Fatima]

How can i read this book?

[Muawiyah Awan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very nice book

[Mehran Khan]

want to know issue of pakistan

[Nabeel]

Hkfku

[Sana]

,n.

[Fabashra Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abit difficult to end it up.. Some of the chapters took my interest.

[Waqas Ali]

i want to read book.

[Zahid Hussain]

I want to read but its not helpful

[Sadam Hussain Sario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise history and politico-economic briefing