Dr. Ghulam Mohey-ud-din

20/09/2026

🏙️ Why do cities make economies more productive?

Urbanisation is not simply about having more people in one place. It is about the economic value created by proximity.

When people, firms, talent, infrastructure and ideas come together, cities generate powerful agglomeration economies:

→ Deeper and more diverse labour markets
→ Greater specialisation
→ Knowledge and innovation spillovers
→ Shared infrastructure and services
→ Thicker markets for skills, capital and business
→ Higher productivity and better economic opportunities

But these benefits are not automatic.

They depend on how cities are planned, connected, governed and managed. Poorly planned urban growth can create congestion, housing pressures, infrastructure deficits and inequality—eroding the very productivity advantages that make cities valuable.

The central lesson of urban economics is simple:

«Cities create value not merely by concentrating people, but by enabling them to interact, exchange, specialise and innovate more efficiently.»

That is why urban planning is ultimately economic policy.



Cities are outcome of markets and policy.

15/09/2026

Create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me.

14/09/2026

🌍 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Why do economic activities locate where they do? Why do some places prosper while others lag behind?

Economic Geography helps us understand how people, resources, industries, markets, infrastructure, and policies interact across space to shape economic opportunities and regional development.

Resources + People + Places → Prosperity

Understanding space is essential to understanding economies—and shaping better places.

14/09/2026

13/08/2026

Cities thrive not through uniformity, but through diversity, interaction, and organic growth.
Jane Jacobs reminds us that mixed uses, diverse people, varied buildings, and walkable streets are the foundations of vibrant urban life.
Great cities are built from countless small, diverse, and interconnected choices.

24/07/2026

The World Bank spent three decades warning developing countries against industrial policy. It has now reversed itself, with its chief economist conceding the old advice has the practical value of a floppy disk.

For Pakistan, that sounds like vindication. It is not.

Read closely, the Bank's new flagship report is a warning about feasibility rather than a licence for activism. It ranks policy tools by cost and administrative difficulty. Institutions and public inputs come first, meaning industrial parks, quality infrastructure and cluster-relevant skills. Tariffs, subsidies and targeted incentives come last, because they demand constant monitoring and deep fiscal pockets.

Pakistan has been climbing that ladder from the top down.

Of roughly 7,589 customs tariff lines, about 7,476 carry an additional customs duty. Federal tax expenditure reached around Rs2.35 trillion last year, close to a sixth of the entire tax target and nearly twice what the federation spends on subsidies. The power sector alone absorbs over Rs1 trillion a year in subsidy.

And the return on all this? Manufacturing sits below 12 percent of GDP, and large-scale manufacturing has now contracted for a third consecutive year. The one segment booming is automobiles, up around 40 percent, the most protected activity in the economy, while chemicals, steel and electrical equipment fell sharply.

The instruments are not building competitiveness. They are protecting incumbency.

Pakistan does not need more industrial policy. It needs the industrial policy its institutions can actually deliver.

My column in Business Recorder sets out the three failures and the five corrections. Link in the first comment.

17/07/2026

Pakistan's fiscal challenge is not simply about rising public debt. The deeper concern is that an increasing share of government borrowing is being used to service yesterday's liabilities rather than invest in tomorrow's growth.

When debt servicing absorbs a growing portion of public resources, development spending on education, healthcare, infrastructure, innovation, and human capital is inevitably squeezed. Fiscal sustainability, therefore, requires more than reducing budget deficits—it demands rebuilding the state's fiscal capacity and redirecting public finance toward productive investment.

In this article, I discuss:
• Why Pakistan has fallen into a fiscal trap.
• How debt servicing crowds out development spending.
• The long-term economic consequences of financing the past at the expense of the future.
• Policy reforms needed to restore fiscal space and support sustainable economic growth.

I look forward to your comments and perspectives on how Pakistan can break this cycle and build a stronger fiscal foundation for long-term prosperity.

Read the full article (link in first comment):

If you find the article insightful, please consider sharing it to encourage a broader discussion on Pakistan's fiscal future.

12/07/2026

💰 **The Paradox of Thrift: When Saving More Can Make Everyone Poorer**

We are often taught that saving money is always a good thing—and for individuals, it usually is. ✅

But what happens if **everyone** starts saving more and spending less at the same time?

This is what economists call the **Paradox of Thrift**.

📉 Less consumer spending means:
🛒 Lower demand for goods and services
🏭 Reduced business sales
👷 Layoffs and lower incomes
💵 Falling national income

Ironically, when incomes decline, people may find it harder—not easier—to save.

The lesson is simple:

👉 What is rational for one individual is not always beneficial for the economy as a whole.**

Economic prosperity depends on a healthy balance between **saving, spending, investment, and production**. During recessions, restoring demand can be just as important as encouraging savings.

💡 **Key Takeaway:**
**Individual thrift builds personal wealth. Collective thrift during an economic downturn can deepen the recession.**

📊 Understanding economic principles helps us make better policy decisions and better personal financial choices.

What are your thoughts? Do you think governments should encourage spending during economic slowdowns? Share your perspective in the comments. 👇

29/06/2026

"Anyone earning more than Rs. 8,483 isn't poor."

You've probably seen this claim all over social media.

But here's the question: Was that really what Pakistan's Economic Survey says?
The answer is no.

The Rs. 8,483 figure is not a household income, nor is it a political declaration by the Prime Minister. It is a per capita monthly poverty line used for statistical measurement. Unfortunately, the technical context was lost in the viral debate.
More importantly, while everyone argued over one number, a much bigger story received little attention:

📈 Pakistan's national poverty rate has increased from 21.9% to 28.9% in just six years.

📊 Income inequality has also widened significantly.

In my latest article for Paradigm Shift, I explain:

✅ What a poverty line actually means.
✅ How it is calculated.
✅ Why Pakistan's poverty statistics are often misunderstood.
✅ Why improving transparency is just as important as improving the numbers themselves.

Read the article through the link in the first comment and let me know whether you think Pakistan should rely only on income-based poverty measures or move towards multidimensional poverty indicators.