Framework for Economic Growth, Pakistan - Planning Commission

International conference on “Framework for Economic Growth, Pakistan”QUESTION & ANSWER SESSOIONOpening Remarks and Question from the Deputy Chairman, Planning CommissionRichard thank you very much. It was really an interesting talk and I have enjoyed it enormously.Even though I have read all your books still I learnt something new. Let me also tell you aboutRichard that he is also a very good professor and encouraging. He has also encouraged my son,Umair Haque, to write a book and Richard has also written a blurb for that.Richard has told us a number of things and you would be pleased to know that we have includeda number of good ideas including 4 Ts in FEG. Before I open floor for discussion and questions Iwould like to ask you first that how do you think that being a thousand dollar per capitadeveloping country we need to follow the stages of growth, create industry first, things which areway beyond us or jump and start it?Answer by Dr. Richard Florida:This is a very fundamental question. Myhunch is that if you look at the traditionalladder model and tried it, it has not let yougo to great success. It seems to me that thesuccess of a country with great resources,like Pakistan, lies in its large population,rich history of creativity, andentrepreneurship. We need to enableentrepreneurship in Pakistan. Butentrepreneurs you have sent to America andother parts of the world. Every single daythey come to America from Pakistanbuilding great technology companies,service companies and call centres etc. Ithink the talent base is there and we need tofocus much on entrepreneurship spirit. Onceyou enable entrepreneurs and motivate themthey may come back, share their experiencehere and start businesses. Secondly you havea great number of cultural entrepreneurs inyour artistic world in music, food, art &craft etc. and they are ignored by thestrategies made by the government becauseyou focus mainly on building large scaleindustries. I think you need to make a newbargain with your people and tell them thatwe are going to invest in your talent,creativity, education etc. to harness talent.Bargain on the citizens should be that theyuse their talent and use capabilities in mostproductive way to not only try to get a betterjob for themselves but also create jobopportunities for others.***Questions to Professor Richard Florida from audienceQuestion: I have a question which looks at the link between agriculture and city’s development.In a country like Pakistan we see disparities between agriculture and urban sector. In this textwhen we talk about city to be inclusive of agriculture sector it becomes difficult to convincepeople. How do we do that? Please comment.Answer: I think it is a false distinction. Iwant to try to clear that this issue is alsothere in United States and Canada. Peopleask there as well that if we go to cities do weleave rural areas behind. Jane Jacobs saidthat our model typically means that119