Making Sense of Joan Robinson on China

Dr Pervez Tahir completed his PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge in 1990 and held the Joan Robinson Memorial Lectureship in the same year. Currently Chairman of the Bank of Punjab, Pakistan, he has had a long career in the Government of Pakistan, starting in 1974 as the Deputy Economic Adviser of Ministry of Finance and rising to be the Chief Economist of the Planning Commission in 2000. He retired as Managing Director of the National Energy Conservation Centre. In 2007-08, he served as Mahbub ul Haq Chair at Government College University, where he received his Master and worked as a lecturer in 1971-72. The Forman Christian College University, Lahore, appointed him Professor/Head of Department of Economics in 2009. Before joining Government, he was the Economic Correspondent of the Pakistan Times and Editor of the weekly, Punjab Punch. Presently, he writes for the Express Tribune.

• 1. Introduction.- 2. The Major Contributions.- 3. The First Phase: Thoughts on Socialist Development in a Backward Overpopulated Economy.- 4. The Second Phase: a 'Starry-Eyed Joan Robinson'.- 5. The Third Phase: Self-Criticism.- 6. Conclusion.