Domestic Resource Mobilisation: A Structural Approacb

The Mobilisation of domestic resources and their efficient utilisation are two of the most crucial tasks in revitalising the economy of Pakistan. Historically, low saving fotmation and relatively higher targets of investment and economic growth made it imperative to depend on external resources. Despite heavy domestic borrowing from both private and public sectors, there still has remained an unmet resource gap that has necessitated dependence on foreign capital. I In recent years, the sources of foreign assistance have become scarce due to a growing shortage in world saving and growing domestic demand for budget appropriations in the western countries. If economic growth in Pakistan is to be sustained and selfgenerating, investment in physical and human development must be increased and mad more efficient. To meet this challenge, most of the capital will have to come from domestic sources. Hence, the focus of this paper is on harnessing domestic efforts to increase saving formation and to enhance efficiency of capital investments. Traditionally, the government of Pakistan has relied on conventional approaches to increasing domestic saving. First, the government has been encouraging greater saving by the private sector through a package of national saving schemes and by allowing financial institutions to introduce saving incentives. Saving-schemes and saving incentives have not produced satisfying results. Table 1 shows saving and investment in selected South Asian countries. Saving in Pakistan is very low and, indeed, among the lowest even when compared with neighbouring and other developing countries. Explanations of this failure include the low levels of income and high rate of inflation in the country.2 Moreover, the financial institutions have in general remained inefficient.