Planning Commission urges market-led growth

Strategy calls for strengthening economic governance.

ISLAMABAD:

A draft strategy, prepared by the Planning Commission, stresses the need for boosting economic growth above historical average and emphasises on growth that is led by the market, rather than the government.

The economic growth strategy, titled “Pakistan Framework for Economic Growth”, called for developing ‘software’ of the economy to provide a conducive atmosphere for ‘hardware’ growth, said a commission statement on Monday.

The thrust of the strategy was to focus on the software of economic growth, including issues such as economic governance, institutions, incentives and human resources in order to foster an environment in which physical infrastructure could be expanded and made more productive at every level.

The strategy argued that private sector investment could be encouraged by reforming and strengthening economic governance, for example, the working of institutions such as the bureaucracy, the commercial judicial system and the taxation system.

It cited investment of a smaller share of gross domestic product (GDP) as the main reason for relatively slower growth compared with other developing countries. Pakistan had been investing a comparatively smaller share of its GDP and the share was either stagnant or showed signs of decline, the strategy read.

The strategy encouraged improving productivity by increasing competitiveness in the marketplace and increasing entry and exit of firms.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th,  2011.