How Should We Best Accelerate Growth and Job Creation in South Asia?

“South Asia continues to grow rapidly and its largest economy, India, is close to becoming a Tiger.”

Sadiq Ahmed and I were inspired to author Accelerating Growth and Job Creation in South Asia when we were asked by the South Asia Chamber of Commerce, SAARC Business Conclave, FICCI, and a number of policy makers, local research institutes, and CEOs to come up with a strategy on what can be done by South Asian countries to accelerate growth and job creation. So we invited the world’s leading scholars to apply their talents to understanding the economies of South Asia. This gave birth to the book.

It is organized along three themes—an overview of South Asia’s growth opportunities and challenges; sources of growth and policies for the future; and the significance of regional cooperation in promoting growth. The essays combine quantitative data with analytical rigor to provide innovative suggestions in terms of policies and institutions that can propel South Asia towards higher growth, while promoting inclusiveness.

This book brings three new perspectives to the economics of growth and job creation in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. First, it brings insight to the setting of priorities and strategies to accomplish the objective of sustained growth and poverty reduction (to quote Mike Spence). Second, it usefully turns the spotlight away from India to the regional context and the long-term economic health of the South Asian countries (to quote Homi Kharas). Third, it powerfully explores the link between regional integration, economic growth, and job creation (to quote Pratap Bhanu Mehta). But are the growth and job creation strategies discussed in this book still relevant in the post-global crisis environment?

The current global crisis may change globalization itself, as both developed and developing countries adjust to global imbalances that contributed to the crisis. The three models of globalization--trade, capital, and economic management--may not be the same in the future. Changes in globalization could change the composition of trade flows, capital flows, and economic management, which in turn, could accelerate or restrain growth.

So will South Asian countries need new strategies for growth and job creation, or are the old strategies discussed in this book still relevant? I welcome feedback on this.

What do you think?

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