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The Political Economy of Development: A Critical Assessment of Balochistan, Pakistan

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  • Ahmed, Manzoor
  • Baloch, Akhtar

Abstract

This study aims at examining the political economy of the province of Balochistan, Pakistan and the underlying causes of social and economic under-development of the province. After presenting a brief and critical account on the historical development of the people of Balochistan, the paper argues that the province of Balochistan notwithstanding having a huge and resourceful land has failed to keep the pace of socio-economic development and modernity with other fellow provinces in the federation of Pakistan. After the independence of Pakistan and the formation of Balochistan as a province of, the people of Balochistan because of their political disorganization and segregation and economic backwardness failed to exert them within the political economy realm of Pakistan in order to grab their due resource share. The saga of economic and social backwardness of Balochistan province is a multifaceted puzzle. A section of the Balochistan political elite and scholars believe that the centralist nature of Pakistani federation is such that small nationalities like the Baloch and Pashtoon would find it hard to get their due share within the federation. That is because, the resource distribution and representation to both elected bodies and state institutions are based upon population, and Balochistan in spite of having 44% of Pakistan territory accommodates only 5% of country’s total population, whereas, another section is in the view that the nature of geo-economics and historical perspective of the province hinder the pace of economic development. The paper also touches the geostrategic importance of Balochistan and underlines its economic difficulty in terms of the dearth of human resources, physical infrastructure, economic autonomy, and productivity among others.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed, Manzoor & Baloch, Akhtar, 2017. "The Political Economy of Development: A Critical Assessment of Balochistan, Pakistan," MPRA Paper 80754, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 25 Jul 2017.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:80754
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/80754/1/MPRA_paper_80754.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Cheema, Ali & Khwaja, Asim Ijaz & Qadir, Adnan, 2005. "Decentralization in Pakistan: Context, Content and Causes," Working Paper Series rwp05-034, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
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    8. Zahid Hasnain, 2008. "The Politics of Service Delivery in Pakistan: Political Parties and the Incentives for Patronage, 1988-1999," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 47(2), pages 129-151.
    9. Weingast, Barry R & Shepsle, Kenneth A & Johnsen, Christopher, 1981. "The Political Economy of Benefits and Costs: A Neoclassical Approach to Distributive Politics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 642-664, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Manzoor Ahmed, 2023. "Political Economy of Discretionary Allocation of Annual Development Programmes: Theory and Evidence from Balochistan (Article)," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 62(2), pages 167-197.
    2. Shakoor Ahmad Wani, 2021. "The New Baloch Militancy: Drivers and Dynamics," India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, , vol. 77(3), pages 479-500, September.
    3. Omer Siddique & Muhammad Ahsan Achakzai, 2022. "Balochistan: The Unrealised Potential," PIDE Knowledge Brief 2022:54, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    4. Manzoor Ahmed, 2023. "Political Economy of Elite Capture and Clientelism in Public Resource Distribution: Theory and Evidence from Balochistan, Pakistan," India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, , vol. 79(2), pages 223-243, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political Economy; Development; Resource Distribution; Balochistan; Pakistan;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • K30 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - General
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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