Open AccessInternal Migration Patterns in Pakistan— The Case for Fiscal Decentralisation
Author(s) -
Mahreen Mahmud,
Tareena Musaddiq,
Farah Said
Publication year - 2010
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/v49i4iipp.593-607
Subject(s) - decentralization , devolution (biology) , distribution (mathematics) , commission , revenue , cornerstone , federalism , government (linguistics) , politics , tourism , economic growth , business , development economics , economic policy , economics , political science , finance , geography , market economy , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , archaeology , law , human evolution
The cornerstone of fiscal federalism is to empower provincesthrough fiscal decentralisation, thereby reducing the friction betweenthem. This is achieved if the distribution of resources betweenprovinces is judicial and equitable, reducing the biases and dividesamongst the provinces and leading to a stronger federation. In Pakistan,the National Finance Commission (NFC) awards are constituted to decidethe share of the provinces in the federal revenues and to redistributethis share to the provinces. Over the years, there has been a gradualincrease in federal shares. The federal government has also stretcheditself into several matters that fall under the provincial purview (forinstance roads, irrigation, culture and tourism and rural development)[Shah (1997)]. With the aimed devolution of power from the centre to thelocal government, it is imperative that these provincial governmentshave adequate finances to effectively carry out the subjects that fallunder their domain. Moreover, there has been no serious shift inresource distribution amongst the provinces themselves, in spite of thedisparities in economic and social development as well as varyingpolitical and security situations. This has, in turn, contributed inaggravating the differences between provinces over time, bringing intoquestion the success of the NFC awards in fosteringintegration.