Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq was a Pakistani game theorist, economist, and professor of microeconomics at the University of Karachi who served as the 13th Finance Minister of Pakistan. Haq’s 1996 book,” Reflections on Human Development” opened new avenues to policy proposals for human development paradigms, such as the 20:20 Global Compact and the setting up of the UN Economic Security Council that became the inspiration for the establishment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He is known as “the most articulate and persuasive spokesman for the developing world.”
- Born: February 22, 1934, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir
- Died: July 16, 1998, New York, United States
- Nationality : Pakistani
- Education: King’s College, Cambridge, Yale University, Trinity College, Cambridge
In 1958 he earned bachelors in economics. He went on to attend Cambridge University where he earned another bachelors in the same discipline. At Cambridge, Haq gained his bachelors alongside Amartya Sen, with whom he formed a close, lifelong friendship. Haq then went to the United States for his doctoral studies. He entered in doctoral programme of Yale University and earned PhD in Economics from Yale, which was followed by post-doctoral work at Harvard University. After completing his post-doctoral studies, Haq returned to his country to join the government service.
POSITIONS HELD
- World Bank (1970-1982)
During his tenure at the World Bank, Haq influenced the Bank’s development philosophy and lending policies, steering more attention towards poverty alleviation programs and other social sectors.
- Minister of Finance, Pakistan (1982–1988)
Serving as Pakistan’s Minister of Finance, Planning and Commerce, Haq is credited with significant tax reforms, deregulation of the economy, increased emphasis on human development and several initiatives for poverty alleviation.
According to Parvez Hasan “under Mahbub’s direction, the Planning Commission became once again a lively place and began to exert powerful influence on social sector issues.”
- Advisor to United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) (1989–1995)
In his capacity as Special Advisor to UNDP Administrator, Haq initiated the concept of Human Development and the Human Development Report as its Project Director.
- Establishment of Human Development Center (1996)
In 1996, Haq founded the Human Development Center in Islamabad, Pakistan-a policy research institute committed to organizing professional research, policy studies and seminars in the area of human development, with a special focus on the South Asian region.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Haq and Amartya Sen devised the Human Development Index, which has become one of the most influential and widely used indices to measure human development across countries. The HDI has been used since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme for its annual Human Development Reports. He also gave 5 year plan to South Korea which helped South Korea to progress rapidly.
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SELECTED WORKS
- The Strategy of Economic Planning (1963)
- The Poverty Curtain: Choices for the Third World (1976)
- The Myth of the Friendly Markets (1992)
- Reflections on Human Development (1996)
- The UN And The Bretton Woods Institutions : New Challenges For The Twenty-First Century / Edited By Mahbub ul Haq (1995)
- The Vision and the Reality (1995)
- The Third World and the international economic order (1976)
- The New Imperatives of Human Security (1995)
- A New Framework for Development Cooperation (1995)
- Humanizing Global Institutions (1998)
‘Mahbub ul Haq’s untimely death is a loss to the world …’, Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General.
‘… probably more than anyone else, (Mahbub) provided the intellectual impetus for the Bank’s commitment to poverty reduction in the early 1970s.[…]His unique contributions were trend setters for the world and focused attention on the South Asian social realities, urging all of us to look at the dark corners of our social milieus’. James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank.
The Mahbub ul Haq Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Development was established by UNDP in honor of Haq that alternates between recognizing political and civil society leaders.
Arthashastra 