Governance and Pro-poor Growth: Evidence from Pakistan

The issue of governance has gained importance over the last two decades and became a key component of policies for economic development. Good governance acts as a positive force to influence economic growth. A growing amount of available evidence suggests that lack of quality governance hinders growth and investment, and aggravates poverty and inequality. In fact, governance problem foil every effort to improve infrastructure, attract investment, and raise educational standard. As the developing countries are characterised by weak institutions, low growth, poverty and inequality all which translate into low levels of human development. The multiplicative effects of these outcomes result in poverty traps that are extremely difficult to break out. This state of affairs has forced governments to embark on a wide range of reforms in their institutions of governance and economies with the goal of achieving economic growth.