economist-survey

The Economist Survey of Pakistan 2030
There exists only a single regulator for all financial markets
relieving the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)
from bank supervision. Consequently, this allows for a cleaner inflation
targeting regime.
The Problem of Land
Much of the rent-seeking that occurred in Pakistan was tied to
the regime of land ownership and management. The élite which
operated like a mafia seriously resisted any change in the land
management regime for a long time. Moreover, the uncertain situations
helped them accumulate lucrative positions.
In the earlier circumstances , many systems of land titling prevailed
with none of them clearly conferring an open transferable title on the
owner. In addition, ownership records allowed land to be held in some one
else’s name. All ownership and transactions could be manipulated by
bureaucratic whim or political power. As a result, ‘Qabza’ (land grabbing)
became a common preoccupation for advancement.
Land had become Pakistan’s problem from day one. Mass
migration at the time of independence left a lot of evacuee property and a
large number of claimants of this property. This set in motion rent-seeking.
Later, the government too got involved in the act of developing property
when it undertook schemes like Gulberg in Lahore and then the
development of Islamabad. Government allotment of this developed
property led to rationing which further intensified rent-seeking. The army
was quick to catch on and many defence housing schemes were initiated to
allow the army personnel to benefit from rent-seeking as well.
Land development was also undertaken through the cooperative
housing schemes using a law that was meant for the development of poor
housing. Many influential people from time to time developed cooperatives
that would then use the government power of eminent domain to acquire
land and distribute the large portion of benefit to themselves.
In the rural areas, large landholdings allowed local power to be
concentrated in a few households. This feudal regime (by which few
families continued to rule the country through much of its history) was
maintained through these large landholdings. In addition, the weak land
titling regime helped the feudals by keeping rural land immobile and in
their political hands. Land reform had not worked. Hence the new
thinking was that a land market would contribute to breaking the back
of the feudal.
11