ABSTRACT

Economic decision-making in Pakistan must be understood as the product of the nation’s history, including the legacies of the traditional societies of the region and of the Muslim strand of the South Asian independence movement. The major elite groups determining economic policies in Pakistan have been the civil and military bureaucracies, the large landowners, and a congeries of industrial and merchant families. After 1971, these groups experienced a comparative decline in power and influence, while middle class professionals, labor groups, and wider groups of agriculturists gained strength in shaping economic decisions. Decision-making in Pakistan has often been highly personalized and centralized in the chief executive. This has been true of Ayub, Yahya, Bhutto, and Zia. The visibility of the head of state must not, however, be given excessive significance, even if it is convenient to demark political periods with the familiar personalities.