Indispensable micro-level reforms

While national focus on removing macroeconomic imbalances is imperative, it is not enough to build a wide range of competitive industries and economies. Reforms are needed at the micro level, for which the caretaker government has taken some initiatives. Economic reforms at the national level bring only selective productivity gains at the micro level, says Dr Khakan Hassan Najeeb, a former finance ministry advisor. As evidence suggests, he adds, substantial changes initiated by reforms at the micro level of the economy across corporates, firms, and individuals are indispensable for raising the competitiveness of most industries. They will also require digital infrastructure support from the state. To quote Caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar, inadequate investment in the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) —globally recognised to enhance the competitiveness of countries and industries and value addition as well as employment generation, has hindered Pakistan’s sustainable growth and development.