Pakistan is a country stuck in a status quo of a somnambulist state that no jarring crisis can wake up, be it the pandemic or the state of near-default.

Since 1991, the percentage of employers (as a share of total employment) has remained at 1pc, indicating that the wealth is still concentrated in the hands of the few.

The main change in the trend of data is that as a percentage of employment, the number of self-employed workers has declined. Instead, there is a rise in contributing family members, eg a son working for his father or a nephew working for his uncle (assuming they live in the same household).

This again perpetuates the status quo. The next generation follows in the footsteps of the elders. Hence the rich, entitled employers remain wealthy, and the poor continue to be stuck in the quagmire of relative poverty.

Research by Lums argues that the growth in income in Pakistan is mainly pro-rich. The wealthy get wealthier as wealth inequality is twice the level of income inequality.

The richer you are, the easier it is to access the resources required to increase assets and vice versa, leading to wealth inequality being twice the level of income inequality.

The most affluent 10pc of households own 60pc of household wealth, while the least moneyed 60pc own just one-tenth of it.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, May 1st, 2023