Entrepreneurship and the Process of Development: A Framework for Applied Expeditionary Economics in Pakistan

Abstract

Executive Summary: The purpose of this study is to develop an empirically based model to serve as a starting point for designing development strategies for Pakistan and similar countries, where aid has produced few tangible gains and the economy has not been able to generate sustained periods of growth. Within this framework, the model seeks to integrate into the entrepreneurship-led growth strategy of Expeditionary Economics several related but diverse strands of research: the literature on governance and economic growth, factors underpinning entrepreneurship, and the diverse forces contributing to instability. The hope is that ultimately the analysis will yield a plan of action and a way of identifying the sequencing of reforms that can be applied to a wide variety of conflict/post-conflict settings in the developing world. The study found that: 1. It is unlikely in Pakistan’s current institutional/political setting that traditional aid programs, even with greatly expanded funding, could initiate a process of institutional development and reform sufficient to offset Pakistan’s current slow growth and cycle of violence (see Fig. ES-1). 2. However, an extensive quantitative assessment of successful country growth patterns found that entrepreneurial activity is a key element in driving the growth process through progressive stages of economic development.