Pakistan Economy

Pakistan Economy registers a six to seven percent economic growth with its foreign direct investment escalating day by day. Pakistan , from the time of its independence started with a purely agricultural economy. But soon its industrial wing gathered momentum and soon Pakistan became the role model world over.
It is one among the growing economies of the World. The economic potentiality of the country is better judged only when we mark the positive growth rate of the economy since 1951.
The country has a total surface area of 796.1 thousand sq mi.
Pakistan Economy Social Indicators
In mid Year 2005, the population of the country was 155.8 millions in comparison to the 152.1 millions in the previous year. The average annual growth rate of the population (%) in the country (1999-05) was 2.4.
The following table represents the annual growth rate of population in the country.
The life Expectancy rate of the country in the year 2003 was 64.1 Years.

Economics as a Social Science

Economic ideas are influential in restructuring society, for better or worse. An understanding of economics is important in the pursuit of progressive social change, even more than in the pursuit of personal enrichment.

Economics as a Social Science challenges the conventional wisdom of neoclassical economic theory found in most standard textbooks. It examines alternative analytical frameworks and draws on the insights provided by contemporary feminist and environmental movements. Since the release of the first edition in 1996, this
book has become a key text. This new edition provides up-to-date analysis of economic issues, grounded in the current social and political context.

Major sections explore:
· Contemporary challenges: globalisation, inequality, economy-environment interactions and the 'new economy'
· Economy and society: market, state, class, gender, ethnicity, social capital, ideology
· Competing economic analyses: classical, neoclassical, Marxian, institutional, Keynesian and post Keynesian
· Modern challenges: green economics, feminist economics, rethinking economic development
· The state and economic policies: what can governments do?

Economics as a Social Science is a comprehensive collection of classical and contemporary readings in the field, written by leading local and international scholars.

Some chapters have been written for the book by prominent economists. Others are condensed versions of longer chapters and articles, abridged in order to highlight the key issues. All have been selected with a view to making the issues accessible to non-specialists who might otherwise shy away from the study of technical economic issues.


Frank Stilwell is Professor of Political Economy in the School of Economics and Political Science at the University of Sydney. He is author of Changing Track: A New Political Economic Direction for Australia (2000) and contributor to other Pluto Press books such as Serving the City (1999) and Stopping the Juggernaut (1999).

What Caused The Economic Crisis Of 2008?

I think we can sum up the cause of our current economic crisis in one word — GREED. Over the years, mortgage lenders were happy to lend money to people who couldn’t afford their mortgages. But they did it anyway because there was nothing to lose. These lenders were able to charge higher interest rates and make more money on sub-prime loans. If the borrowers default, they simply seized the house and put it back on the market. On top of that, they were able to pass the risk off to mortgage insurer or package these mortgages as mortgage-backed securities. Easy money!
What Went Wrong With Our Financial System?
The whole thing was one big scheme. Everything was great when houses were selling like hot cakes and their values go up every month. Lenders made it easier to borrow money, and the higher demand drove up house values. Higher house values means that lenders could lend out even bigger mortgages, and it also gave lenders some protection against foreclosures. All of this translates into more money for the lenders, insurers, and investors.
Unfortunately, many borrowers got slammed when their adjustable mortgage finally adjusted. When too many of them couldn’t afford to make their payments, it causes these lenders to suffer from liquidity issue and to sit on more foreclosures than they could sell. Mortgage-backed securities became more risky and worth less causing investment firms like Lehman Brothers to suffer. Moreover, insurers like AIG who insured these bad mortgages also got in trouble.

Pakistan - Balance of payments

Pakistan's payments problems have been chronic since the 1970s, with the cost of oil imports primarily responsible for the trade imbalance. The growth of exports and of remittances from Pakistanis working abroad (mostly in the Middle East) helped Pakistan to keep the payments deficit in check. Since the oil sector boom began subsiding in the early 1980s, however, remittances declined. Remittances from overseas workers peaked at $2.9 billion in 1982/83, then dropped to $1.4 billion by 1997/98 and $1 billion from 1999 to 2001. This trend especially accelerated during the Gulf War, when nearly 80,000 Pakistanis in Kuwait and Iraq lost their jobs. Only about 25% of these jobs had been regained a year after the end of the conflict. Increased imports and softer demand for Pakistan's textiles and apparel in major markets also caused the current account deficit to further increase. The balance of payments position weakened in 1995/96 as imports grew by 16% and exports by only 6%. The rupee was devalued by 11% during 1995 and 1996 to encourage exports. Nevertheless, foreign reserves fell to around $800 million by mid-1997. By 2000, foreign debt equaled 100% of GDP. The government took steps in the early 2000s to liberalize and deregulate the exchange and payments regime. Pakistan moved to a dual exchange rate system in 2000. An increase in liquid foreign exchange reserves in 2001 was due in part to outright purchases from the kerb market and inflows from international financial institutions. Export growth in 2000/01 was primarily due to higher exports of primary commodities such as rice, raw cotton, and fish, and other manufactures such as leather, carpets, sporting goods, and surgical instruments. Imports increased in 2000/01 primarily due to higher imports of petroleum and petroleum products, and machinery.