Open AccessThe Economics Profession in Pakistan: A Historical Analysis
Author(s) -
Nadeem Ul Haque,
Mahmood Hasan Khan
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
pakistan development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.154
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0030-9729
DOI - 10.30541/v37i4iipp.431-452
Subject(s) - legislature , goods and services , economics , profit (economics) , interpretation (philosophy) , institutional economics , state (computer science) , political science , public economics , market economy , neoclassical economics , law , algorithm , computer science , programming language
Economics is a policy science: its claim is to describepolicies that can improve peoples' lives. Its usefulness forpolicymaking, therefore, depends on how well economists understand andinterpret economic behaviour. In other words, successful economic policyentails a good understanding of the dynamics of economic change. Inturn, a model of economic change requires analysis of institutions andorganisations in the society. Institutions are the informal conventions(customs) and formal rules by which the members of a society organisethe production and distribution of goods and services. Organisations arethe players in the economy, including the state (executive, legislatureand judiciary), private businesses (profit-seeking individuals andcorporate entities), and private non-profit associations (NGOs,professional groups and bodies). Both institutions and organisationschange with the evolution of each society and economy. Much aseconomists disagree on the underlying assumptions and interpretation of"facts" about economic change, they have a broad agreement that thediscipline of economics must be embedded in the study of interactionsbetween institutions and organisations.