This paper was prepared for the International Labour Organizations by the Collective
for Social Science Research in Karachi. Its small core staff of researchers in the social
sciences have extensive experience conducting multidisciplinary research both in Pakistan
and internationally. Areas of research interest include social policy, economics, poverty,
gender studies, health, labour, migration, and conflict. The Collective's research, advisory,
and consultancy partnerships include local and international academic institutes,
government and non-governmental organizations, and international development agencies.
The Collective is recognized for three main areas of innovation in the practice of
applied social sciences in Pakistan: the introduction of a political economy perspective in
macro- and micro-issues; the attention to informal collective action and social networks;
and the combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The
Collective's objective is to produce high quality academic research in the social sciences
and to foster informed debate on social, political and economic issues and policies.
In preparing this paper, as well as consulting the wealth of literature, interviews were
held with a number of current and former senior government officials. These officials were
asked for their views on the following questions:
 What were major changes in monetary policy during the structural adjustment
programme in the 1990s?
 How and in what ways did the role of the State Bank alter, what interventions did it
make during the following periods, and what were the effects of those interventions
in?
 What are your views about selection of priority sectors for special treatment through
credit allocation and/or subsidized credit?
 Does the Government identify priority sectors or does the SBP identify them
independently? If the latter, then how and through which process?
 Which instruments are mostly used and how does the SBP use them to enforce the
policy approach?
 What is the process of coordination between the SBP and Government of Pakistan on
credit allocation to priority sectors?
 What were the requirements for credit priority loans and how were they arrived at?
 What has been the direct and indirect impact of credit policy and priority sectors on
growth and development?
 How and in what ways do fiscal policy priorities affect the SBP’s monetary policy
priorities?
 Please share your insights about the instances where the fiscal and monetary policy
contradiction was most pronounced.