Kudos to Majyd Aziz for his highly informed perspective in the shape of an article ‘‘Is textile sector ‘rent seeker’?’’ carried by the newspaper yesterday.
That the writer has shown an accurate and deep understanding of the subject is a fact. It is also a fact that cronyism and rent-seeking have become an integral part of the way some of our biggest businesses do business.
Rent-seeking is a type of economic behaviour, typically found in a climate of uncertain or weak property rights enforcement. There is a revolving door between the government and certain businesses. They have been found to be too good at manipulating public policy or economic conditions as a strategy for increasing profits.
We all know that our statist economic system has always been, by its nature, vulnerable to rent-seeking since the country came into existence 75 years ago. In my view, it is about time the government took all the required steps aimed at discouraging all rent-seeking activities mainly in view of the fact that rent-seeking activities have only added to country’s economic woes.
Mohsin Ali (Lahore)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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