The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): Considering Contemporary Pakistan through Old-Fashioned Economics and Historical Case Studies

Abstract

As part of the massive One Belt One Road (OBOR) project or ‘New Silk Road’ the governments of China and Pakistan have announced that a significant ‘corridor’ will be constructed in Pakistan. This paper looks in detail at the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) package of transport, energy and manufacturing projects and asks how we can analyse the impact of a transformative expansion of infrastructure. This paper draws lessons from various old-fashioned economics including Rostow, Hirschman and others and the historical case studies of transformative infrastructure expansion in the nineteenth century United States, Mexico, Germany and India to explore the conditions under which CPEC could promote sustainable long-run economic growth in Pakistan.

Exploring the Determinants of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Its Impact on Local Communities

“…Therefore, it is pertinent for both Pakistan and China to capitalize on this support, while working toward accommodating the social and political concerns of the general public by providing timely and across-the-board benefits—that is, jobs creation through timely completion of CPEC projects. To the degree that our findings are consistent with those of earlier studies (e.g., Ali et al, 2018; Hussain, 2020; McCartney, 2018) that show that infrastructure development can benefit local people by providing new opportunities (of employment and business), access to better infrastructure (particularly health and education institutions), and improvement in overall living standards, we conclude that CPEC is on track toward making a significant contribution to social well-being.…”

“…The results suggest that the development goal of CPEC can never be realized until and unless the megaproject provides the desired level of economic, environmental, and social benefits. The projects under the umbrella of CPEC can accomplish its long-term goals such as jobs creation, environmental safety improvements and improvements in local living standards (Hussain, 2020;McCartney, 2018). As this study demonstrates, all the outcome variables have a negative and insignificant relationship with internal and external migration, while they have a positive and insignificant relationship with overall migration.…”

“…The results suggest that the development goal of CPEC can never be realized until and unless the megaproject provides the desired level of economic, environmental, and social benefits. The projects under the umbrella of CPEC can accomplish its long-term goals such as jobs creation, environmental safety improvements and improvements in local living standards (Hussain, 2020; McCartney, 2018).…”

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (Cpec) Opportunities and Threats at Domestic and Regional Circles

“…Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made his official visit to Pakistan in 2013 and showed his interest to the deep sea port of Gwadar in southern Pakistan. The two sides agreed to shape the plan and the link became known as CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) and includes various projects of electricity, oil and gas pipelines, roads, railways, special economic zones, fiber optic networks, Gwadar port, Gwadar city (McCartney, 2018). CPEC is part of huge infrastructure project that will involve almost sixty countries known as the One Belt One Road (OBOR).…”

“…CPEC is part of huge infrastructure project that will involve almost sixty countries known as the One Belt One Road (OBOR). OBOR has become the significant part of the Chinese foreign policy under president Xi Jiping (McCartney, 2018).…”