Are “Consistent Time Series Data Relating to Pakistan’s Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries” Inconsistent: A Comment

In the Spring 1976 issue, The Pakistan Development Review published an article by A. R. Kemal [2] on “Consistent Time Series Data Relating to Pakistan’s Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries” (hereafter referred to as Kemal I). That article was followed by a second article [3] in the Winter 1976 issue of the same journal, entitled “Sectoral Growth Rates and Efficiency of Factor Use in Large-Scale Manufacturing Sector in West Pakistan” (hereafter referred to as Kemal II). These two articles had very significant impact because they purport to present more realistic figures describing the development of Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing sector during the period 1959-1960 to 1969-1970. This was a period in which that sector grew rapidly and was subject to strong structural changes. Fresh data for the large-scale manufacturing sector during that critical period could therefore lead to a reinterpretation of Pakistan’s economic history during the 1960’s. The purpose of the two Kemal articles appears to have been to provide such a new statistical picture for large-scale manufacturing, and the study on which they were based was financed by the Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan.