As long as economic planning based on innovative ideas and research assumes the position it deserves, economic development in Pakistan is expected to be lopsided and flawed, and growth, erratic.

The government needs to incentivise critical thinking in all disciplines, economics in particular. Does the current leadership even recognise the value of critical thinking, or is inclined to take practical steps to encourage it? My guess is as good as yours.

In the modern world, under close media watch and active citizenry, managing an economy in all its complexities has become more difficult, even for the most advanced nation. With their intellectual capital deployed, however, they have the luxury of a varied set of options to choose from to achieve their desired objectives.

No one contested the perception that all relevant policies … are cheap imitations of policies in practice in other countries, or ones influenced by donors

In Pakistan, with more than its fair share of problems — also for reasons beyond the scope of economics — policymakers appear confused due to the lack of focused research and innovative ideas; stumbling for clear direction. Is it the political will, professional skill, personal attitude or the institutional framework that is at fault here?

“The country’s environment does not appear to be conducive to the germination of ideas. Practically all research is donor-driven and the political leadership is too self centred and insecure to allow free debate on policy. The government interprets policy disagreements as politically inspired and as a conspiracy to oust it”, said a frustrated economist.

“People who are capable are self indulging. Many have opened shops (consultancy firms) and compete with their likes for lucrative projects. Others who might be inclined to serve a cause often lack competence and public support to sustain their commitment”, he lamented naming names but not ready to own his comments.

Salim Reza, former State Bank governor, shared his concerns on the absence of a culture of research in the country as follows:

“The government has power and resources to mobilise local talent and orchestrate and promote research in key economic areas. It would be lame to expect a troubled society to throw up experts in an intellectually hostile environment on its own”, he remarked.

Many senior officials and analysts were in Washington last week for the World Bank and IMF annual meetings. Some economists and bureaucrats who serve in economic ministries blamed a mix of all the above mentioned factors, political, personal, professional and institutional, for the stunted economic thought processes behind the economic policy making, which has lead to erratic trends and under performance of a resource rich country.

No one contested the perception that all relevant policies, from major ones like the energy policy, to minor such as the one dealing with the introduction of gender code in factories, are cheap imitations of policies in practice in other countries, or ones influenced by donors.

They dismissed the popular perception that the weak implementation, and not a flawed policy framework, mars Pakistan’s economic performance.

“Yes inefficient governance leads to ineffective implementation, rendering even a good policy futile, but after serving thirty years in the government I believe that the powerful groups are too invested in the status quo to seek change. The fact is that they do all in their power to forestall any move that can threaten the current balance.

“For political hierarchy ad-hocism is the name of the game as power wielders tend not to think long term. Either they are fire fighting or manoeuvring to access donor’s resources by hastily producing marketable policy documents”, said a frustrated economist in Islamabad, working for the government.

“Ask any federal secretary can confirm, policy documents are crafted on a days notice. Believe me it feels like a Kingdom here in Islamabad, where his highness’s wish has to be treated as an order. Honest officers in economic ministries dread mainstream positions where insults are part of the package”, another officer, trying to move out of his current position said.

The position papers churned out by several private institutions, including banks and investment advisors, are more of a shallow commentary on day to day affairs, or a projection of interest of powerful business groups.

“Please enlighten me if I am missing out on the groundbreaking work of a Pakistani economist. In the past thirty years several dozen Pakistanis qualified as economists from world leading institutions.

“All of them may be doing well for themselves but the level of excellence, where they rise in their own field, or make a remarkable contribution to some alternative economic framework to address issues facing the country, is just not there”, remarked an independent analyst.

“Since Mehbub ul haq, who pioneered the Human Development Index, Hamza Alvi, who made significant contributions to the characterisation of the state as a class in itself, and Mehmood Hasan Khan, who investigated the pattern of landholdings in rural Pakistan, no name comes to mind even after hard thinking”, he added.

It is therefore not surprising that Pakistan occupies a place at the lower rung of 131 out of 141 countries assessed in the 2015 report of the Global Innovation Index; an index that explores the impact of innovation-oriented policies on economic growth and development.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, October 10th, 2016