Economic Management in Pakistan, 1999-2002

by Ishrat Husain

Pakistan has faced several financial crisis since 1998. The new government, starting in October 1999, embarked upon a serious program of economic revival that is slowly leading to stability. This book charts this process.

350 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 2004

Reviews

[Colin]

Rather defensive assessment of the early years of economic reform under the Musharraf administration, written by the head of the central bank at the time. Several chapters making the case for why Pakistan has been forced to go to IMF for bailouts, why international trade is good for Pakistan, and so forth. Assumes more knowledge of finance issues and Pakistani economic history than I currently have (or have interest in plowing through); I ended up skimming most of the finance chapters in favor of the somewhat more tangible discussions of fiscal and political reforms. These include the standard technocratic calls for reform and good governance, without much guidance on how this can happen (the Musharraf regime was generally seen as taking positive steps in this regard, but the political economy of military rule receives no attention). Even the cautious optimism here doesn't seem to have been born out in practice as most of the structural problems identified at the time have persisted in the decade-plus since.