Input-Output Relationships in Pakistan (Book Review)

Growing integration of economic analysis and policy making over the last several decades has created, as a by-product, an ever increasing flow of economic statistics, which still continues to grow in scope and detail. This is especially true in developed countries, where the various statistical offices produce each year an amount of new material which could easily fill a respectable bookcase. This is also true in the developing countries where the requirements for rational development planning and policy preparation are increasing rapidly and most of the statistical agencies have a difficult time in trying to keep up with these demands. One of the most comprehensive descriptions of an economy, which is receiving increasing attention at the policy formulating level, is provided within the framework of an input-output table, and Dr. Rasul has made it his task to produce such a table for the Pakistan economy of 1954. This is a staggering task, generally done by a team of statisticians instead of by one person. The author deserves, therefore, a tribute of respect for his courage and perseverance in undertaking this work. This is even more the case when one realises that this project was undertaken at a distance of several thousand miles from Pakistan, in the Netherlands Economic Institute in Rotterdam or at the author’s home in the Hague.