Human Development in Asia 2003

Human Development Centre's 2003 report on The Employment Challenge of South Asia underlines the imperative of translating economic growth into job creation and poverty reduction. In Keeping with the tradition of the Centre's previous reports, this report analyses the issue of employment from the perspective of people. The report raises concerns about the current patterns of economic growth and trade, the systems of education and training, the protection of the rights of all workers including women and children, and the global trading rules as they impact on food and livelihood security of poor people. The report provides a policy framework to establish links between economic growth, employment, human development and poverty reduction. The report concludes that the failure to consciously establish this link would deliver neither sustainable economic growth nor social justice. The report analyses the critical issue of employment in the context of globalisation and the slowdown of the world economy. In recent years, South Asian countries have increased their economic activities, but these have not led to increased income for the majority of people or a reduction in poverty. The report puts people at the center of economic, political and social policies. The South Asia regional focus of the report enables a rich examination of issues, comparing and contrasting the experiences of various South Asian countries. The wealth of data collected for the report, as well as the analyses made, will be valuable for policymakers, social scientists, academic and research institutes, students of economics, sociology, government and trade policies, and all those who are engaged in influencing policies. Human Development in South Asia 2003 has been prepared under the direction of Khadija Haq, President of the Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre. The research was conducted by a team consisting of Feyza Arman Bhatti, Umara Afsar, Muhammad Daud Munir, Mohammed Ali Raja and Taha Mustafa. Two Indian economists, Jayati Ghosh and Parthapratim Pal, were an integral part of this work.