Social dimensions of economic reforms in Asia

The present volume is concerned with economic reforms in developing countries of Asia having mixed economies (not centrally planned economies). The economic reforms referred to here include stabilisation as well as structural adjustment policies. It is generally recognised that these policies generate substantial social costs, at least in the short and medium run. But the nature and the dimensions of these costs and the possibilities of minimising them are not well understood as yet. It is this context which prompted the former Asian Regional Team for Employment Promotion (ARTEP) of the ILO to organise a series of tripartite workshops on social dimensions of economic reforms. During 1991-1993 two country level workshops (one each on Bangladesh and India) and a regional workshop were held. The reigonal Workshop held in Kathmandu in August 1993 covered eight major countries of Asia (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka). The present volume is based on selected background papers prepared for the regional workshop. Two types of background papers were prepared for the workshop: thematic papers on labour market and training policies and papers on specific country experience. Part I of the present volume contains the thematic papers while part II contains the country experiences.