ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to examine the economic implications for Afghanistan and Pakistan over the next several years of the ongoing drawdown of NATO forces. In contrast to the perspectives of some of the other papers written for this book, 2014, the year in which NATO withdraws all combat forces from Afghanistan, could be a historical milestone, but it represents neither the starting point nor the end point of what might be a difficult period of economic adjustment. The economic effects of the drawdown on the economies in the region are beginning to be felt now, as force levels fall and foreign assistance to Afghanistan – and Pakistan – is scaled back. By the same token, because of likely continued inflows of foreign assistance and the presence of training and other forces in Afghanistan after 2014, not all inflows of foreign funds will end on that date. Consequently, 2014 is not the salient date for this analysis.
