This book traces the development of Pakistan’s economy through four decades of the country’s existence. The author describes the four successive decades as Stagnation Decade, Development Decade, Disaster Decade, and Bondage Decade for the economy. While the book discusses developments in all the four decades, the second and fourth decades receive special attention from him. This is because the growth strategies pursued by the military rulers, F.M. Mohd. Ayub Khan in the case of second decade, and General Zia-ul-Haq in the fourth decade were of far reaching consequences. These raised important issues of economic policy and development strategy for a developing country.
In a short period of a little over four decades since independence, Pakistan has moved from the status of an independent sovereign state to a dependency position caused by compulsions of external finance that it needs to run the economy. Its foreign policy has come to be dictated by USA while its economic policies are determined by the conditionalities clauses contained in the IMF agreements for grant of special credit facilities to the country. It is with this story of struggle of a Third World country, that Pakistan is, for rapid economic development and tribulations faced by it in the process That the book deals. The discussions in the book of growth strategies, balance of payments problem, prices and wages, economic inequalities and problem of poverty should he of interest not only to students of economic history of Pakistan but also to the development economists the world over.
ISBN: 8122001556
Publisher: VANGUARD BOOKS
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Author: B. M. BHATIA