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This story has been submitted by Agha Ghazi.
Economy
An economic activity may be a process that, supported inputs, results in the manufacture of an honest or the supply of a service. The classification of activities divides economic activities into categories which, by aggregation, make it possible to define the sectors of activity (Agriculture, Industry, Construction, Trade, etc.).
The units within which business statistics are concerned (enterprises, legal units, establishments, etc.) may perform one or more economic activities, but each unit has only 1 main activity. The sectorial classification of a unit corresponds to the world of activity to which its main activity belongs.
Economic Sectors
Primary Sector
The primary sector is the inspiration of all business. think about this because the raw materials that support everything else. Mining, agriculture, fishing, farming, forestry and mining all represent the first sector. In developing areas of the globe, the first sector takes up a large chunk of the general economy. For this reason, employment has shifted in recent decades to the secondary and tertiary sectors.
Secondary Sector
Once those raw materials are cultivated, the secondary sector turns them into products. This sector involves manufacturing and industry, which has traditionally employed a good section of the workforce. However, employment in manufacturing has dropped in recent years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects this downward trend to continue. Just like the primary sector, the secondary sector’s job growth has fallen low with technology. It has allowed manufacturers to accomplish more with far fewer resources.
Tertiary Sector
The overwhelming majority of workers are employed within the tertiary sector, which is that the business segment that has services to customers. The tertiary sector includes those working in retail, restaurants, hotels, sales, and similar fields, often relying heavily on the products produced by the first and secondary sectors. The tertiary sector also includes the very transportation industry that carries manufactured goods to other tertiary businesses, and so provides those products to the consumers who want them. The zoom of the telecommunications industry has led to a possible subset of the tertiary sector, called the quaternary industry sector. This sub-sector includes internet, cable, and phone providers.
Public Sector
Although government agencies and their employees technically provide services to consumers, this section of the economy differs so dramatically from the tertiary sector that it’s worth separate consideration. The general public sector includes organizations owned and operated by government agencies, including schools and libraries. Unlike private-sector businesses, these organizations rely heavily on taxpayer dollars allocated by politicians, instead of revenue coming in from customers paying specifically for services. Through the employment of requests for proposals, these agencies may also outsource work to personal companies, which can perform work for a mix of public and personal sector clients.
Sustainable Economy
In this world of growing globalization, economic growth grows its roots vastly. There are numerous economic activities going on in our daily courses of life which positively impact our life from both consumer and producer point of view. We are able to control and regulate the prices of both luxury and necessity goods by our buying behavior and the producers are able to make a normal or subnormal profit ( curve below the marginal revenue line). This sort of market, known as imperfect competition/capitalism, is common globally. From an economic point of view, capitalism serves us better than anyone. However, there are many drawbacks of it taking into account the concept of Sustainability.
Now, what is a sustainable economy? A question which all economists face and the answer to it drifts us to a separate segment of social sciences.
In simple words, a sustainable economy says that everyone should be benefited. It says that economic activities should be done without endangering the environment and the resources. It suggests providing a good quality of life to each and everyone presents out there.
If you look at it on a broader scheme of perspective, it makes a lot of sense! It’s always better to save the resources we have for the future generation of human beings. We need to use the resources that we already have more and more efficiently and effectively and the only way to do that is through the system of sustainable economics.
Major economic activities of Pakistan
Economic state of Pakistan
It is said that Pakistan is a little behind in terms of economic performance. Mentioned below are some important statistics regarding our country’s economy.
- GDP = 276.11 billion USD
- B.O.P. = -2,032 ( current account balance with official transfers )
- Inflation rate = 3.9%
- General Government Gross Debt = 72.1%
- GDP/capita = 72.1% ( of GDP )
- Unemployment rate = 5.6%
Pakistan is classified as a developing country. Amongst other developing countries are Bangladesh, Sudan, India, Sierra Leone, etc.
Major economic activities of Pakistan
The existing economy of Pakistan remains in the hands of a few successful sectors of the economy such as:
- Agriculture – 18.5% of GDP, 37.4% of labor
- Mining – 2.8% of GDP
- Industry – 18.17% of GDP, major sectors include cement, fertilizer, tobacco, and steel
- Defense – created in the year 1951
- Textiles – accounts for 70% of exports
- Telecommunication – 6mill landlines with 100% fiber-optic network
The sustainable-economic future
Even though the economic performance of Pakistan lacks by a greater margin as compared to all the developed and also many developing countries, the economic activities themselves don’t cease. Our main focus, however, is the sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in the country. To achieve the goal, amendments will be made to the course of economic practices.
Water
In the words of the water board itself, the accountability of water remains non transparent to both the users and the authorities. We should strive to attain an acceptable level of transparency in order to receive greater transparency.
A measuring meter must be installed in households to gauge water consumed individually. Consequently, people should also pay monetary tax with respect to how much water they consume monthly.
Agricultural activities require a vast usage of water, and yes, rightfully so as it is the largest operating industry of Pakistan to date. The accountability of it again is quite unclear. To keep track of it, farmers are to be allotted a sufficient amount of water coherent with the crop yield that ought to be produced in a particular season. Moreover, a record of the water usage should also be issued once the yield is produced and output is generated.
Electricity
One sight which has relentlessly remained common throughout the years on almost all media outlets is the slide that reads ‘bijlee ka buhran’ or shortage of electricity. A problem like this is very trivial. It can be solved given the geographical features and weather we possess.
Installation of solar panels should be done in Thal, Tharparkar, Kharan, Katpana, and Cholistan. Solar energy has replaced electrical energy in many countries. It’s quite a shame that we are not able to by the year 2020.
Moreover, the wind should also be used as an alternative form of energy. There are very few wind turbines installed and there is a potential of a few dozen more. Comparatively less dry areas of Sindh and lower Indus Plain are ideal for the production of wind turbines.
Biofuel
Sweden is economically sound. Even though this does go out for the whole of Scandinavia, Sweden has always had a separate attraction. In Sweden, electricity is only and only produced through litter. A little hard to believe, right?!
Biofuel refers to any fuel which has its derivation from plants, animal wastes and/or algae.
Unlike fossil fuels such as coal, compressed natural gas or gasoline (major resources of Pakistan) does not contribute to global warming and is highly cost-effective. The refining process and the removal of arable land are costly and the state must now consider a shift towards biofuel permanently.
The most commonly used biofuel is Ethanol. Other examples of biofuel include; biodiesel, biogas, green diesel and cow dung ( animal manure ).
Social infrastructure
It is about time we address the elephant in the room; the locals of Pakistan! Even by taking a glimpse at the roads of major cities, it can be interpreted that people are rather ignorant themselves when it comes to the cleanliness and consequently the betterment of our environment. Moreover, the social infrastructure and political and legal practices provide us with an environment which supports such sort of behavior.
In order to reduce littering, our legal forces should start taking action. The concepts of negative reinforcement and positive punishment should be used. People should be fined if they do not abide by the laws of keeping the city ‘clean and green.’ Secondly, our education curriculum and the religious sermons should emphasize the importance of cleanliness and how important this is for our sustainable economic development.
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