Growth Mechanisms: Dissecting the Economic Determinants of Pakistan's GDP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56532/mjbem.v4i1.66Keywords:
Trade-Openness, Capital, Inflation, Human Capital, GDPAbstract
This study employs ARDL's short- and long-run estimation methodologies to examine the elements that have contributed to Pakistan's economic growth between the years 1991 and 2023. According to the data, the export-to-GDP ratio and consumer price index (CPI) had minimal detrimental impacts on GDP. However, at a significance level of 5%, we observed that an increase of one unit in both the total labor force (TLF) and gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) resulted in a near-term GDP increase of 0.695 units and a long-term GDP gain of 0.733 units. These findings indicate substantial and positive impacts on GDP. Despite its favorable nature, the life expectancy rate (LER) did not have any noticeable effect on GDP in the short or medium term. These findings emphasize the importance of increasing both capital expenditure and the workforce's size in driving Pakistan's economic expansion. In order to sustain and accelerate economic growth, the paper proposes a reassessment of trade and inflation policies, with a greater focus on policies that promote workforce growth and capital accumulation, as well as enhancing the overall quality of human capital.
References
Adeleke, A. O., & Moses O, A. (2023). Econometrics Analysis of the Effect of Human Capital Development on Economic Growth in Nigeria. International Journal Of Multidisciplinary Research And Analysis, 06(06), 2582–2592. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijmra/v6-i6-57
Ahmad, N., Rehman, S., & Dost, M. K. B. (2020). Determinants Affecting Governance in Response to Economic Development in the Developing Countries: Evidence from Pakistan. Review of Economics and Development Studies, 6(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.47067/reads.v6i2.208
Ahmmed, M., Uddin, M. N., Rafiq, M. R. I., & Uddin, M. J. (2020). Inflation and Economic Growth Link – Multi-Country Scenario. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 10(4), Article 4.
Ajmair, M., Hussain, K., Abbassi, F. A., & Bhutta, Z. M. (2017). Determinants of economic growth in pakistan: A structural vector auto regression (svar) analysis. European Journal of Business and Economics, 12(2).
Amjad, R. (2014). Pakistan’s Growth Spurts and Reversals: A Historical Perspective. The Lahore Journal of Economics, 19, 91–104.
Atiq-ur-Rehman, M., Shaheen, R., & Munir, F. (2021). Impact of Trade Openness on Economic Growth in Emerging Economies: A Panel Data Analysis. International Research Association for Sustainable Development - iRASD, 9(2), 210–216.
Aydın, B., & Demiröz, M. D. (2023). Theoretical And Empirical Literature Of The Relationship Between Human Capital And Economic Growth. Finans Ekonomi ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 8(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.29106/fesa.1267542
Bharti Kapur, R. C. (2023). Trends in CPI and GDP of India. International Journal of Science and Research, 12(6), 673–678. https://doi.org/10.21275/sr23528002525
Bleaney, M., & Tian, M. (2023). The trade-GDP ratio as a measure of openness. The World Economy, 46(5), 1319–1332. https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.13355
Daňová, M., & Širá, E. (2023). Educational and innovative elements of human capital and their impact on economic growth. Economy of Regions, 19(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2023-1-9
Deka, A., Ozdeser, H., & Seraj, M. (2023). The effect of GDP, renewable energy and total energy supply on carbon emissions in the EU-27: New evidence from panel GMM. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(10), 28206–28216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24188-x
Ding, X., Huang, Y., Gao, W., & Min, W. (2021). A Comparative Study of the Impacts of Human Capital and Physical Capital on Building Sustainable Economies at Different Stages of Economic Development. Energies, 14(19), Article 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14196259
Haq, F. ul, Rashid, T. ur, & Zia, U. ur R. (2022). Socio-Economic Prospects of Solar PV Uptake in Energy Policy Landscape of Pakistan. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 11(4), 936–949. https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.2022.46082
Hasan, P. (2015). Failed Economic Promise: Lessons from Pakistan’s Development Experience. In R. Amjad & S. J. Burki (Eds.), Pakistan: Moving the Economy Forward (pp. 22–47). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316271711.003
Husain, I. (2018). Pakistan’s Economy and Regional Challenges. International Studies, 55(3), 253–270. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020881718796041
Jetter, M., Laudage, S., & Stadelmann, D. (2019). The Intimate Link Between Income Levels and Life Expectancy: Global Evidence from 213 Years*. Social Science Quarterly, 100(4), 1387–1403. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12638
Jiménez-Yumbla, J. A., Coronel-Pangol, K. T., & Aguirre-Quezada, J. C. (2022). Capital Humano en economías en vías de desarrollo frente a la Pandemia (COVID-19). Revista Arbitrada Interdisciplinaria Koinonía, 6(11), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.35381/r.k.v6i11.1160
Jošić, H. (2023). TRADE OPENNESS AND GDP GROWTH NEXUS: THE CASE OF OECD COUNTRIES. International Journal of Multidisciplinarity in Business and Science, 9(14), 15–23. https://doi.org/10.56321/ijmbs.9.14.16
Kanwal, L. (2015). Economic Development in Pakistan: A Reflection of Social Division during 1947-1969. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 35(1), Article 1.
Keerti. (2023). Relationship between GDP & Inflation in India and China. International Journal of Innovative Research in Engineering, 446–456. https://doi.org/10.59256/ijire.20230403113
Khatun, T., & Afroze, S. (2017). Relationship between Real GDP and Labour & Capital by Applying the Cobb-Douglas Production Function: A Comparative Analysis among Selected Asian Countries. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Relationship-between-Real-GDP-and-Labour-%26-Capital-Khatun-Afroze/4280c062adce0af8a8bc0520c11eb0c7046185d5
KUÇLU, N., & Yenilmez, F. (2024). The Effects of Labor Markets and Trade Openness on Economic Growth. Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage Book Series, 56–80. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-3669-4.ch003
Kurniawan, R., & Managi, S. (2019). Linking Wealth and Productivity of Natural Capital for 140 Countries Between 1990 and 2014. Social Indicators Research, 141(1), 443–462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-017-1833-8
Nisa, Z.-. (2019). Financial Determinants of Economic Growth of Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 5(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.26710/jbsee.v5i2.855
Qamar, W., Azam, M., & Khan, A. (2015). Measuring the Impact of Total Revenue, Total Labor Force and Oil Prices on Economic Growth of Pakistan.
Rahman, M. (2018, June 7). Impact of Labour Force Participation on Economic Growth in South Asian Countries. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Impact-of-Labour-Force-Participation-on-Economic-in-Rahman/bd241dfb075e00335eee355f8da9c6fd54b534c6
Ravikumar, R., Ezhilarasan, G., & Munusamy, A. (2024). A Cointegration Analysis: Investigating the Long-Term Relationships among FDI Inflows, GDP, and Trade Openness in Brazil. Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities, 11(S1-June), 116–124. https://doi.org/10.34293/sijash.v11is1-june.7925
Sajjad, S. H., Waheed, S. A., Khan, T., Qadri, S. M. T., & Gilani, N. (2014). Natural Hazards and Related Contents in Curriculum of Geography in Pakistan. Asian Journal of Natural & Applied Sciences, 3(2).
Saleem, H., Shahzad, M., Khan, M. B., & Khilji, B. A. (2019). Innovation, total factor productivity and economic growth in Pakistan: A policy perspective. Journal of Economic Structures, 8(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40008-019-0134-6
Shamshir, M., Rehman, N. A., Hussain, A., & Sabir, S. (2019). Relationship among Economic Growth and other Macroeconomic Variables: A Study of Pakistan. Journal of Resources Development and Management, 54(0), 60.
Shi, S., & Wang, X. (2024). Analysis of human capital effects introducing Bayesian quantile regression in the process of industrial structural upgrading. PLOS ONE, 19(7), e0304730. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304730
Shujah-ur-Rahman, Chen, S., Saud, S., Saleem, N., & Bari, M. W. (2019). Nexus between financial development, energy consumption, income level, and ecological footprint in CEE countries: Do human capital and biocapacity matter? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(31), 31856–31872. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06343-z
Siegmann, K. A., & Majid, H. (2021). Empowering Growth in Pakistan? The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 64(2), 309–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-021-00316-y
Sohail, H. M., Ullah, M., Sohag, K., & Rehman, F. U. (2023). Response of Pakistan’s economic growth to macroeconomic variables: An asymmetric analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(13), 36557–36572. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24677-z
Su, C.-W., Li, Z.-Z., Tao, R., & Lobonţ, O.-R. (2019). Can economic development boost the active female labor force? Quality & Quantity, 53(2), 1021–1036. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0800-z
Sugözü, İ. H., & Ünver, E. (2024). A Panel Data Analysis on the Relationship between Financial Development and Economic Growth: The Case of Asian Countries. International Econometric Review, 16(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.33818/ier.1455226
Triha, H., Shofia, A., Putri, R. M., Alius, M., & Satria, T. F. (2023). Correlation between the Number of MSMEs and the Growth of the Workforce with the Regression Analysis Model. Journal of Computer Scine and Information Technology, 7–12. https://doi.org/10.35134/jcsitech.v9i1.40
Ungureanu, A. (2024). The performance of human capital in relationship with economic growth. Review of Economic Studies and Research “Virgil Madgearu.” https://doi.org/10.24193/rvm.2023.16.105
WTO. (2023a). Report by the WTO Secretariat [Text]. WTO iLibrary. https://doi.org/10.30875/9789287072641c004
WTO, W. T. (2023b). Report by Pakistan (pp. 137–152) [Text]. Trade Policy Review: Pakistan 2022. https://doi.org/10.30875/9789287072641c005
Yadav, P. (2021). Output and Trade Relation. In P. Yadav (Ed.), Geographical Perspectives on International Trade (pp. 83–98). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71731-9_5
Yakubu, M. M., Akanegbu, B. N., & G, J. (2020). Labour Force Participation and Economic Growth in Nigeria. Advances in Management and Applied Economics, 10(1), 1–1.
Yang, T. (2024). How Real Interest Rate Influences Real GDP, CPI and Unemployment Rate in EU countries. Highlights in Business, Economics and Management, 24, 1851–1855. https://doi.org/10.54097/zkqfyz49
Yıldırım, D. Ç., & Akinci, H. (2020). The dynamic relationships between the female labour force and the economic growth. Journal of Economic Studies, 48(8), 1512–1527. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-05-2020-0227
Yu, X. (2022). Research on the influence of human capital on economic growth. BCP Business & Management, 26, 626–635. https://doi.org/10.54691/bcpbm.v26i.2016
Zaheer, R., Abid, S., & Abbas, W. (2022). Economics Is Nothing Without The Impact Of Macroeconomic Determinants On Economy Of Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Social Research, 4(04), 983–1009. https://doi.org/10.52567/pjsr.v4i04.906
Zhu, Y. (2023). Research on the Relationship Between Inflation, GDP and Unemployment Rate. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences, 5, 361–369. https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/5/20220103
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Ahmad Mazher, Muhammad Ali Nizami, Yasotha Nair Tramankuti

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
