An Assessment of Pakistan's Export Performance and the Way Forward (original) (raw)

The Need for a Coordinated Industrial Strategy to Boost Pakistani Exports: Lessons from Asia

THE LAHORE JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, 2014

This paper focuses on a group of Asian countries that have successfully increased exports and found a common industrial strategy. Several key factors emerge from this study. First, countries that have managed to increase their exports focused on doing so in sectors in which they had expertise while slowly developing new export sectors at the same time. Second, high-growth Asian economies have developed their export sectors by making a significant move up the quality ladder and, in particular, moving away from low value-added to higher value-added exports. Third, there is no single economic policy that has worked across Asia; rather, successful exporters have used two or three policies in tandem to boost exports. Fourth, industrial policy has been coordinated with education and training policies to develop both the entrepreneurs and the workforce needed to produce high value-added exports. Finally, the only consistent factor that has an impact on high value-added export growth is dom...

International Competitiveness: Where Pakistan Stands?

2007

The concept of competitiveness has been widely accepted and has become a part of discussion in worldwide forums. Today global economy cannot be explained in the same manner as it was a few decades ago. Improved competitiveness of economies is a need of the day and ability to compete in the world market is of major concern. This paper attempts to assess the position of Pakistan in the International Competitiveness. As a survey paper, the concept, definition and the measurement of competitiveness have been analysed further to assess Pakistan's position in the region. Competitiveness is linked with export performance of other trading and non trading countries. Pakistan's export performance is analysed in this context. Lessons for Pakistan have been drawn on the basis of experiences of emerging economies. It has been concluded that countries can strengthen their export markets with the passage of time. They need to improve the governance as well as technological progress to increase high-tech exports. Developing countries like Pakistan start from low technology and with passage of time shift to improved technologies. Technology-based activities help improving export performance that brings competitiveness of a country. The paper also suggests a model to government of Pakistan which describes that high technology exports will be a result of extensive Research and Development (R&D) using human capital as an investment in the country. The success depends upon the combined efforts of the government, individuals and business initiatives both in public and private sectors.

The Diversification and Sophistication of Pakistan’s Exports: The Need for Structural Transformation

THE LAHORE JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS

While export diversification is considered to foster export growth and enhance GDP growth rates, this diversification has not translated into higher exports for Pakistan. In addition to diversification, the country must undergo a structural transformation of its exports to upgrade to a more sophisticated export basket. This entails shifting its comparative advantage from primary to manufactured exports and, further, from a labor-intensive to a more capital-intensive productive structure. In order to explain Pakistan’s paradoxical situation, this paper analyzes Pakistan’s orientation in the ‘product space’ as it affects the process and rate of structural transformation. In addition, we assess the sophistication of Pakistan’s exports based on their complexity and technological sophistication. Our analysis refutes the traditional argument that diversification leads to greater exports and faster economic development. It also shows that the bulk of the country’s productive capabilities a...

Pakistan : Export diversification and trade policy

2012

Trade orientation in goods is low and decreasing, goods are low tech, and trading partners are dominated by a few developed economies. Specifically,  The trade orientation here is described in terms of outward looking of the economytrade to GDP, which as 32 percent is half of what it should be. Other countries have reached that China and India but Pakistan has stayed constant and even fell a decade ago.  From a sector point of view, Pakistan's exports are dominated by labor-intensive light manufacturing-like textiles, clothing, footwear, leather and agri-foods. This group's share in exports in 2007-09 was 65 percent. The second most important export sector was the agrifood sector with slightly more than 11 percent of total exports.  The technological content of exports in Pakistan is low. High-tech exports constituted less than 2 percent in 2008, a share broadly unchanged in the past 25 years. 5  The low level of export sophistication in Pakistan. Pakistan's increase in export sophistication is modest. In 1986, the sophistication of its export basket was higher than that of Vietnam. In past 20 years, Pakistan export basket has not undergone an improvement as its Asian peers.  The US and European markets 6 absorb 31 percent and 23 percent of Pakistan's total exports, respectively with China represents the third most important destination, with a 11.5 percent. Gulf (UAE, Afghanistan, Oman) destinations are important re-export destinations. CHAPTER I: AN ECONOMY SHAPED BY CRISES A. 10 Much has been written on the unleashing of the Indian economy as result of the reforms undertaken by Manmohan Singh. There are those who believe that the revival of the Indian economy began with Singh's 1991 dismantling of the license raj. However, others date the resurgence to the reelection of Mrs. Indira Gandhi as prime minister in 1980. According to the economist Bishriupriya Gupta, "a consensus has emerged in the literature that, irrespective of the period considered, economic reforms [of 1991] do not indicate a structural break in India's economic growth. This happened a decade earlier. One of the more interesting accounts is by an Indian entrepreneur who lived through the license raj.

Pakistan's trade competitiveness & complementarities in South Asia

2011

Over the past decade Pakistan remained involved in two major trade agreements with in the South Asia (Pakistan & Sri-Lanka FTA and SAFTA). It is meaningful from an operational and policy perspective to evaluate Pakistan's trade performance in South Asia against its objectives of greater trade integration and suggest policy interventions to improve its effectiveness. In order to achieve this

Opportunities and Challenges for Pakistan in an Era of Globalisation

THE LAHORE JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, 2003

The study analyses the degree of integration of Pakistan’s economy in global trade and financial flows. Pakistan’s integration into the global economy gained momentum in the late 1980s and early 1990s when it adopted more open and liberal policies as part of stabilisation and structural adjustment programmes negotiated with the IMF and World Bank. The paper presents an overview of Pakistan’s economy in the before and after period, it will specifically examine the trade performance from the 1980s onwards to see the progress made towards the integration of the Pakistani economy into the world economy. It will look into the opportunities that Pakistan is likely to gain in a more globalised world, with special focus on the textile and clothing sector and the potential growth in this sector after the abolition of the Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) in 2005. New challenges that may emerge in a more open trading environment will also be discussed.

The Opportunities and Pitfalls of Pakistan’s Trade with China and Other Neighbors

THE LAHORE JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, 2012

While Pakistani trade with India could give a boost to Pakistan’s economy, there are other neighbors with whom trade could be equally important. We look at this aspect of regional trade and show that promoting trade with the rest of Pakistan’s neighbors could have a significant positive impact on the country’s growth. We show that Pakistan’s trade with these neighbors has grown rapidly over the last 10 years and at present they constitute the largest market for Pakistani exports. We also explain how these exports are not only important in terms of absolute value, they have also contributed to the development of new export products. The overall impact on Pakistan’s economy could well be to raise the trend growth rate for the next decade or so by 2 to 3 percentage points above the historical trend growth rate of 5 percent per annum

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF INDIA’S EXPORT WITH PAKISTAN

IAEME PUBLICATION, 2020

Trade is quintessential for nations around the globe, as it helps in economic prosperity and maintaining cordial relations amongst the involved countries. India has trade relations with many countries but its bilateral trade with Pakistan holds great significance because of several reasons. With partition, many resources were divided among both the countries, leaving them dependent on each other for several products. Pakistan’s major exports to India include vegetable products, textiles, dry dates, rock salt, cement, leather, surgical instruments, carpets, and gypsum. While India’s major exports to Pakistan consist of cotton, organic chemicals, dyes and pigments, machinery, pharmaceutical items, teas and spices, iron and steel and plastic goods. Since 1947, both countries have witnessed cordial as well as estranged trade relations, there have been several occasions where due to political tensions no trade has taken place. Trade has occurred between the two nations through various formal and informal channels. This paper will study the India’s export to Pakistan in the post liberalisation era and will also discuss the future projection of trade between the two nations.