John Adams - Exports, Politics, and Economic Development: Pakistan, 1970-1982 (A Westview Replica Edition)

Exports, Politics, and Economic Development: Pakistan 19701982

John Adams and Sabiha Iqbal

During the 1970s, Pakistans export policies went through two major transformations as a result of realignments among its internal interest groups, bringing about significant changes in export composition and performance. As leader of a coalition of labor, small business, and other mass interests, President Z. A. Bhutto supported a more equitable distribution of wealth and income, and shifted national policy after 1972 to favor labor, small-scale industry, and portions of the agricultural sector, rather than the large cotton textile manufacturers. Consequently, between 1972 and 1977, Pakistans export mix changed and the growth rate of exports was lower. A second major reformulation of policy occurred in 1977 with Bhuttos fall from power.

This book documents the role of interest groups in shaping Pakistans trade policy during the politically turbulent 19701982 period. The authors demonstrate that interest group rivalries, as much as national economic characteristics and external factors, have been major determinants of the countrys export performance. In addition to their analysis of the political economy of Pakistans export policies, they examine the behavior of all of the countrys major export components and conclude by assessing the future of Pakistans foreign trade.

John Adams, professor of economics at the University of Maryland, is the author of India: The Search for Unity, Democracy, and Progress. Sabiha Iqbal recently received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland.

To A.M.I., my friend,

J. A.

To Sabah, my daughter,

S. I.

First published 1983 by Westview Press

Published 2018 by Routledge

52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright 1983 by Taylor & Francis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notice:

Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Adams, John, 1938

Exports, politics, and economic development.

(A Westview replica edition)

Bibliography: p.

Includes index.

1. PakistanCommerce. 2. PakistanCommercial policy.

3. PakistanEconomic conditions. 4. Pressure groups
Pakistan. I.Iqbal, Sabiha. II. Title.

HF3790.5.Z5A3 1983 382 .6095491 83-3515

ISBN 0-86531-959-6

ISBN 13: 978-0-3670-2032-3 (hbk)

This book grew out of a shared interest of the authors in the international trade performance of the developing nations. We began with the knowledge that a countrys exports are determined by three paramount factors. These are the standard domestic supply side conditions that determine comparative advantage, the external demand and supply conditions that shape a nations international competitive position; and, the political process of the country, which produces developmental and trade policies. It was this latter factorthe political dimensionthat had been almost totally neglected in existing studies. We wanted to make the case that export performance depended on policy, as well as domestic and external supply and demand factors. This was not novel. What is novel is our illustration of how policy arises from the interplay of political interests; and how policy changes when the balance of interests changes. We further stress the reverse causal linkage: the impact of export and general economic performance on the distribution of income across interest groups and their reactions to the changing circumstances. We thus trace a dynamic pattern of circular causation from interests to policy to trade performance, and from trade performance to income distribution to interest response. It is the working out of this complex process that we examine for Pakistan after 1970.