Growth, Poverty Reduction and Development Assistance in Asia: Options and Prospects

Abstract

This article examines a number of policy challenges and dilemmas arising from the pattern of growth and poverty reduction in Asia, central to which is the fact that growth and poverty reduction have been more rapid in Asia than in any other region in the last decade, and yet Asia still contains the majority of the world's poor. The article examines the record of achievement, possible future trends including emerging patterns of inequality, and likely future priorities for poverty‐reduction policies. It assesses the role of official development assistance and suggests how it may evolve in future, in part linked with responses to a number of challenges shared between Asian and OECD countries, including energy supply, environmental issues including climate change, and financial stability.

Global health equity and climate stabilisation – need for a common agenda

“…There are still nearly 3 billion people living on less than 2$ per day. 25 Around two-thirds of the world's poor are to be found in Asia 26 and every second child on the planet lives in poverty. 27 It has been argued that the structural adjustment policies introduced by the IMF and World Bank to ensure debt repayment and economic restructuring, diverted government resources away from things like health, education and sustainable development and may be one of the central causes of widening relative income inequalities in many countries.…”

Revisiting the asymmetry between the exchange rate and domestic production in South Asian Economies: Evidence from Nonlinear ARDL Approach

“…The current study focuses on the South Asian region, which is home to 1.891 billion people. It makes up one-fourth of the world's population and must cope with several challenges in terms of poverty, energy demand, low saving rate, and macroeconomic stability (Devarajan & Nabi, 2006;Farrington & Clarke, 2006). The South Asian "region lags behind other countries in terms of many socio-economic factors compared to world standards, yet, in the past few decades, the region has emerged as a potential area for economic development and growth (Most & De Berg, 1996).…”