Economic development in southest Asia

The South Asian region, comprising the countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, is comparable to Europe in size and population. Although the region exhibits most of the characteristics of the underdeveloped world, it does possess some distinctive features. For example, South Asia has one of the highest population densities: about a quarter of the world's population lives here on only 3.3 percent of the world's land surface. Its per capita income and growth rate during the last two decades are the lowest among the world's underdeveloped regions. Most countries in the region are among the first underdeveloped nations to initiate comprehensive planning for economic development. The South Asian countries have democratic forms of government and their economic plans are based on democratic models. The low per formance of these economies, when compared to the Communist countries with their command economies, is generally ascribed to the contraints which democratic political and economic institutions place on the development process. Recently, strains have been evident in the democratic processes of the South Asian governments, and states of emergency have been declared in some countries, ostensibly to remove obstacles to economic and social development.

The view that democratically instituted economic planning is ineffective is gaining ground not only in the nations of South Asia but in other developing countries as well. The final outcome of development efforts in South Asia is thus being watched with great interest, especially by other countries with similar development goals. In this sense, the development experience in South Asia is of great significance for the future of democracy, not only as a form of government but also as a framework for economic planning in all developing countries, which collectively include three quarters of the world's population.

In spite of the importance of economic planning in South Asia, no book deals systematically with the massive economic problems facing the entire region. Several books treat of specific countries, but none deals with the region as a whole. The present work attempts to fill this need. What is the nature of the problem of underdevelopment in South Asia? How do we explain its causes? What are the major achievements and failures of economic planning in the last two decades? Why are the critical problems of poverty, unemployment, and mounting frustration among the masses unsolved? These are some of the questions this book considers. While the focus is on South Asia as a region, variations in the economic problems and policies of individual nations are also explored.