Pakistan’s pre-Y2K moment? (opens in new tab)

Pakistan’s external account story is usually told through remittances, and for good reason. They finance the current account, support household consumption, and keep the balance of payments from becoming a recurring national humiliation. Yet the usual reading is also too narrow, because it treats remittances only as money. It does not ask whether they may also be a signal. The more useful question is not whether Pakistanis abroad are sending more dollars home. The more useful question is whet...