Message By Vice Chancellor

Much time is wasted debating the government or the market, as if the polar positions are more than a teaching device. Mere claims “leave it to the market” or “the government must provide or ensure” are used as clever closing arguments in debates and even research papers. Yet at no point in history has there been any human civilization that has functioned without either some form of market or some form of government. Over the last 5 decades, historical experience has been distilled by global research effort to show that economic growth and opportunity is driven by the underlying institutions and culture that humans collaborate to govern their life. What are these institutions? Institutions are laws, regulations and other rules (and how processes and systems that enforce them) that determine human transactions and relations. Without enabling laws and regulations and systems for their efficient management, contracts and transactions would cease, corporations would not exist, and markets would shrivel. If these institutions are not carefully crafted and nurtured, or if the government becomes either overbearing or inefficient, productivity, transactions and investor confidence erode. Governments cannot be judged by claims but by their ability to develop, maintain the key rules processes and regulations that govern life and relations in society. Despite this now evident importance of institutions, the economic conversation in Pakistan remains focused on projects, taxes and aid financing.