Defense Expenditures, Allocations for Development and Debt Servicing: an Analysis of Pakistani Budgetary Priorities, 1976-1992

Abstract

In Pakistan, allocations to the military account for nearly one third of the government expenditur<is. While common sense suggests that the country's high military burdens have largely retarded allocations to development, there may be other budgetary items that have produced a similar effect. In particular the country's rising indebtedness is now forcing the government to commit ever increasing shares of the budget to debt servicing. Because of its rising share of the budget interest payments may have had an even stronger negative influence on economic allocations than that associated with increased defense burdens.