Pakistan's Development — The Role of Government and Private Enterprise

In the 1960's Pakistan's economy started generating rates ofgrowth of over 5 per cent per year—higher than those observed in manyother underdeveloped countries including its neighbours. Industry isgrowing rapidly. Exports are increasing by over 7 per cent per year.Perhaps more significant, many believe, an agricultural revolution isunderway. Some observers consider this to be remarkable and a model ofdevelopment in the non-socialist world. However, the brief growthexperience of the 1960's, after the long stagnation during the 1950's,can hardly be a basis for definitive conclusions about long-rundevelopment. Observation of a longer period and evidence of certainbasic conditions are necessary for such extrapolation. The dependence onforeign aid continues to be large and the domestic saving rate isrelatively low. It is too early to talk of self-sustaining growth. Howand why Pakistan could achieve this development and what it signifiesfor the country's future growth is surely of interest. Yet apart fromsome spotty reviews of progress, mainly from official sources, nosystematic and comprehensive study of Pakistan's development processexplaining its mechanism had been available. Dr. Papanek's book onPakistan's development [13] is an important contribution in this field.The author analyses the factors that led to development in the past, anddrawing upon that experience, suggests policies that would acceleratefuture development. He tries to explain how the saving rate was raisedin a poor country of traditional agriculture, where industrial investorscame from, how agricultural output could be increased at a high rate,and what role government and private initiative played in thisdevelopment. Any analysis of the role of government and privateenterprise has ideological overtones, and the reader of Dr. Papanek'sbook is definitely aware of his in¬dividual predilections. This doesnot, however, reduce the worth of the book.