‘Politics’ has economy in a tailspin: Atif Mian

Pakistan’s economy is in a tailspin, going from crisis to catastrophe and now the system is becoming unhinged, warns Pakistani-American economist Atif Mian. Mr Mian, a professor of economics at the prestigious Princeton University and the first Pakistani to rank among the 25 top economists of the world, blames “judiciary, politicians, and generals” for this situation. “The last couple of years have witnessed a level of chaos, infighting, and jostling for selfish power grabs that has brought the country to this catastrophe,” Mr Mian said in a series of tweets he posted on Wednesday. “We can see this in the increasing stagflationary forces: growth is rapidly falling, and prices are rapidly rising. These are very worrying signs,” he wrote. Stagflation is persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country’s economy.