How Pakistan’s Elite Captured The State, The Market & The Mind

If it wasn't for the fauj Pakistan would have balkanized by the 60s.
You did lose half in 1971. And the people who left seem to be doing much better than the people left behind. Maybe balkanization is better for the people of Pakistan than to live ruled by the elite.
 
You did lose half in 1971. And the people who left seem to be doing much better than the people left behind. Maybe balkanization is better for the people of Pakistan than to live ruled by the elite.

Says the extremist Hindu from India that got his country split during British rule. It is funny you Indians should be talking about balkanization when the colonial power literally chopped you into pieces. You Hindu extremists haven't even recovered from that trauma. 🤭
 
Says the extremist Hindu from India that got his country split during British rule. It is funny you Indians should be talking about balkanization when the colonial power literally chopped you into pieces. You Hindu extremists haven't even recovered from that trauma. 🤭
Topic is Pakistan. You can open another thread for any other country.
 
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Pakistanis are even moving to China
 
Elite capture in Pakistan refers to the structural manipulation of state resources, tax codes, and regulatory frameworks by a privileged few, severely hampering economic growth. This concentration of power—costing the economy an estimated 6 percent of its GDP—manifests in deep-rooted monopolies, heavy subsidies, and widespread tax exemptions. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Here are the key mechanisms and groups driving elite capture in Pakistan:
  • Identified Elite Groups: The state apparatus is frequently appropriated by eight key groups: the military establishment, state-owned enterprises, large landowners (feudal lords), the top 1% of high-net-worth individuals, large traders/exporters, industrial elites, and the banking sector. [1]
  • Distortionary Taxation: The tax code is structured to protect elite interests. Highly productive sectors (like manufacturing and labor) face heavy taxation, while politically influential sectors—such as massive real estate portfolios, wholesale/retail trade, and agriculture—enjoy exceptionally light taxation. [1, 2]
  • Regulatory Capture & Monopolies: Industrial elites frequently shape trade policies (like import curbs and tariff manipulation) to shut off foreign competition, severely hurting export potential and maintaining high domestic prices. [1]
  • Subsidies and Privileges: Privileged entities secure access to lucrative state contracts, cheap subsidized energy, and capital. Research by institutions like the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) outlines how these state privileges grant unearned wealth to a select few. [1, 2, 3]
  • Policy Design Capture: The individuals and bodies responsible for drafting economic, governance, and anti-corruption reforms are often a part of this same elite ecosystem, resulting in reforms that are largely cosmetic and rarely address the root causes of the system. [1]
  • Macroeconomic Mismanagement: Policies like an over-valued exchange rate are used to benefit the elite by enabling cheap imports of luxury goods, while simultaneously stunting job creation and facilitating the transfer of wealth out of the country. [1]
  • State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs): Rent-seeking in major SOEs (such as Pakistan Railways or Discos) siphons off state resources, providing disproportionate benefits and privileges to well-connected insiders rather than maximizing public welfare. [1]
  • Broader Economic Impact: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and international bodies have repeatedly noted that elite privilege crowds out genuine private investment, severely exacerbating inequality, poverty, and unemployment. [1, 2]
  • Google AI
 
"Saaaaar, let me give my jeet input!"
Ohh Paijaan I know why you're doing this because i put a 🤣 emoji on your post

You know I never take you seriously since you called me- (saale hondutve ) that too without any good reason
 
If it wasn't for the fauj Pakistan would have balkanized by the 60s.
Or you could've been one of the asian tigers
Like S.Korea /Taiwan /h.k /Singapore
The reason why it hasn't progressed is because half the country live like bandits and/or illiterate.
🤔
Just look at India, made a lot of money since 2000 after relentlessly kissing Epstein's ass and it still looks like a dump, its because of its people.
Yes you're right - our very own population is a black hole that is sucking the taxpayers money
Nearly 45% of the budget goes to subsidies to the poor classes you know what we have for them free foodgrains on each ration cards , free electricity,free education,free housing , free transport,

Unlike china we have messed up the structure,the Chinese economy stands on the shoulders of the working class and here in India we have this messed up class that is poverty stricken but stil likes to fester in it
Middle class is the one that suffers bears the most burden and never given a single thought during or after the budget or elections
 
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