Trade Liberalisation and Poverty in South Asia

Description

The link between trade liberalisation and poverty has arguably been one of the most debated topics in development policy debate. At the onset of the current economic crisis, the issue is of even greater significance to developing countries in light of protectionism gaining strength in the global economy.

This book examines the connection between trade liberalisation and poverty using theory and evidence. The case studies cover all South Asian countries as the region provides an excellent for a comparative study given the widespread emphasis on liberalisation reforms across all countries over the past two decade, significant inter-country differences in terms of the timing and comprehensiveness of reforms, and the heavy concentration of world poverty in the region. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of evidence on the link between trade liberalisation and poverty in South Asia and highlights important policy issues.

Contents

Part I 1. Introduction Prema-chandra Athukorala, Jayatilleke S Bandara and Saman Kelegama 2. Trade and Poverty in South Asia: Stylised Facts Prema-chandra Athukorala, Jayatilleke S Bandara and Saman Kelegama 3. Trade and Poverty: Theory, Evidence and Policy Issues Prema-chandra Athukorala, Jayatilleke S Bandara and Saman Kelegama Part II: Case studies of Trade Liberalization and Povery 4. Bangladesh Rashmi Banga and Shruti Sharma 5. India Rashmi Banga 6. Pakistan Rehana Siddiqui 7. Sri Lanka Deshal De Mel and Ruwan Jayatilleke 8. Nepal Yuba Raj Khatiwada 9. Maldives Jagath Dissanayake and Suwendrani Jayaratne 10. Bhutan Chencho Dorji Part III 11. Conclusion and Policy Inferences Prema-chandra Athukorala, Jayatilleke S Bandara and Saman Kelegama

Author Bio

Prema-chandra Athukorala is Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Australia.

Jayatilleke Semasinghe Bandara is an Associate Professor at the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Saman Kelegama is Executive Director at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Related Subjects

1. South Asian Studies
2. International Trade (incl. trade agreements & tariffs)
3. Asian Economics
4. Development Economics
5. Economics and Development