Inaugural Address (PDR Vol. 49 No.4 Part I-2010)

My fellow social scientists, economists, scholars, thinkers, observers. Welcome to the 26th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists—a society that prides itself on being the only “professional association of economists and other social scientists” in the country. This annual event serves many purposes: it is an intellectual exchange allowing a stock taking of research and ideas; it is a showcase of fresh understandings and analyses of the Pakistani economy and society; it is a place to review policy and develop constructive policy debates to improve economic management; and it is also a place to develop economists and prepare them to lead development thinking in the country. I was happy to see that the agenda contains a number of panels with leading Pakistani economists discussing a burning issue of the day—fiscal federalism which we are facing with the 18th amendment and the NFC award. We will all await ideas that are generated from the PSDE.