Growth and Poverty in Pakistan: Implications for Governance

According to the Economic Surveys, Pakistan’s real GDP has grown at an average annual rate of 6.8 percent in the 1960s, 4.8 percent in the 1970s, 6.5 percent in the 1980s and 4.7 percent in the 1990s. However, that did not seem to have mitigated poverty as parallel to this growth the number of poor also kept swelling. Although different estimates put number of poor in Pakistan around 50 million, the actual could be more [Ahmad (2001)]. The average growth rates in the first halfcentury of Pakistan have been around 2 percent [Hasan (1997)]. It is pertinent to state that this discussion paper is not an attempt to challenge the figures either of the growth rates or the numbers of the poor in Pakistan. This is rather an attempt to understand the correlation of governance with growth on one hand and poverty on the other. It offers conceptual analysis of the concepts and their respective interpretation, explanation, application and ensuing misunderstandings.