Open AccessAspects of Fiscal Policy and Resource Mobilization in Pakistan
Author(s) -
Jr Stephen R. Lewis
Publication year - 1964
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/v4i2pp.261-282
Subject(s) - gross domestic product , government (linguistics) , mobilization , economics , revenue , resource mobilization , resource (disambiguation) , capital (architecture) , tax revenue , government revenue , economic policy , product (mathematics) , fiscal policy , public economics , economic growth , business , macroeconomics , finance , political science , politics , computer network , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , social movement , computer science , law , history , geometry , mathematics
The meaning of "domestic resource mobilization" has becomecentred on two major statistics: the share of saving and the share oftax revenue in G.N.P. This rather specific and narrow view of "resourcemobilization" has led to a variety of results, most of them unhealthyfrom the point of view of designing meaningful economic policy topromote economic development. Development is identified with capitalformation; capital formation is attributed to saving; and, with thegovernment undertaking an increasing share of the leadership inpromoting development, saving has become identified with governmentsaving, which is, in turn, identified with increased taxation. InPakistan, the identification of the tax and saving problems has beengoing on for some time, with emphasis on the fact that Pakistan hasrelatively low ratios both of gross domestic saving and of central andprovincial taxes to gross national product. While the figures are opento some question, the average gross saving ratio in recent years hasbeen between six and nine per cent1, and the combined share of centraland provincial taxes in G.N.P. has been six to eight per cent2. Both ofthese ratios are low when compared with other developing countries, andthe "effort" to raise these two ratios has become a measure of thecountry's desire to "help itself toward economic development.