Evaluating the performance of public infrastructure: the case of electric power and telecommunications in Pakistan (Ph.D. Thesis)

The study evaluates the performance of electric power and telecommunications sectors in Pakistan at the firm and sector levels, and attempts to quantify the inefficiencies. Since physical, financial, or productivity indicators alone are not able to explain the purposes and goals of public infrastructure systems, a set of relevant indicators have been used in evaluating these sectors. A Cobb-Douglas production function is used to calculate the trend in the growth of total factor productivity (TFP). High system losses, low financial profitability, and much lower TFP growth place the electric power sector of Pakistan below international standards. Although Pakistan's telecommunications sector showed strong financial performance, its performance is distorted by interest-free or low interest loans. Neither the electric power nor the telecommunications sectors performed well in the long run.