The Balance of Payments and External Resources in Pakistan’s Third Five Year Plan: A Comment (Notes and Comments)

The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics has initiated a number of useful studies on different aspects of the Third Five Year Plan. Many of these studies have already yielded thought-provoking articles, one of which is Dr. Bruce Glassburner’s critique of the Third Plan’s sixth chapter on the balance of payments and external resources [1]. 2. The main conclusion reached by Dr. Glassburner as a result of his meticulous analysis of the balance of payments projections and policies is that the Plan’s export targets are overambitious and may be difficult to achieve; that the import projections are conservative and will not sustain the projected investment or consumption levels, and as a consequence Pakistan may not be able to reduce reliance on foreign assistance to the extent visualized in the Plan.