Asia Pacific Development Journal Vol 4 No 1 June 1997

This publication provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience, ideas, information and data on all aspects of economic and social development issues and concerns facing the region and aims to stimulate policy debate and assist policy formulation. The Asian development experience is an example of what can be achieved when policymakers, experts, scholars and people at large harness their creativity, knowledge and foresight. The APDJ provides a scholarly means for bringing together research work by scientists and practitioners for use by a variety of stakeholders.

The Asia-Pacific Development Journal (APDJ) is published twice a year by the Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The primary objective of the APDJ is to provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience, ideas, information and data on all aspects of economic and social development issues and concerns facing the region and aims to stimulate policy debate and assist in the formulation of policy. The development experience in the Asian and the Pacific region has stood out as an extraordinary example of what can be achieved when policymakers, experts, scholars and people at large harness their creativity, knowledge and foresight. The APDJ has been a proud partner in this process, providing a scholarly means for bringing together research work by eminent social scientists and development practitioners from the region and beyond for use by a variety of stakeholders. Over the years, the Journal has emerged as a key United Nations publication in telling the Asian development story in a concise, coherent and impartial manner to stimulate policy debate and assist in the formulation of policy in the region. This special issue contains five selected discussion papers, edited and revised, from the third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13th to 16th July 2015. It highlights the importance of raising substantial financial resources various sources to invest in the social sectors, infrastructure development and efforts to tackle climate change in order to ensure a transformative change to bring about inclusive growth and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.

This paper reviews economic developments in Sri Lanka during 1996–98. After slowing to 4 percent in 1996, economic growth recovered to 61⁄2 percent in 1997. The slowdown in 1996 had been mainly owing to a severe drought that affected the agricultural sector and disrupted the power supply. The recovery in 1997 was strongest in agriculture and manufacturing, supplemented by continued good performance in the services sector, including a rebound in tourism. In addition, significant accomplishments were achieved in economic restructuring, including several successful privatizations and an initial step toward fiscal adjustment.

This title was first published in 2003. Nurul Islam, currently head of economic and social policy at the FAO/UN and a key advisor at the International Food Policy Research Institute, has been a renowned expert on economic development for the past thirty years. Over that time he has researched and written about a wide range of economic development issues, focussing mainly on policy. For the first time ever, his most important writings have been brought together in this volume, reflecting not only Professor Islam’s own views on particular issues, but also providing a unique overview of the key debates and discussions taking place among academic economist and policy analysts over the past three decades. The collection is divided into three main sections: trade and aid, development strategy, and food security, the section on food security being the most recent. It discusses food security in a broad sense, covering issues of availability and growth in food production, access or entitlement of individuals or households to basic food, and variability in food supplies and prices. In the section on Development Strategy, Professor Islam highlights how theoretical argument has veered away from organized ’development planning’ models which proved so important in the 1960s. He questions the role of models and policies throughout the decades and, following articles written in the 1970s or 80s, he includes articles he has recently completed, assessing the previous ones from his current perspective. In the final section, on Trade and Aid, he follows the academic debate on trade and exchange rate policies in developing countries from the 1960s to the progress of the WTO forums of today. This is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking volume. No matter whether the subject in question was examined in the 1960s or currently, Professor Islam provides a challenging and insightful analysis, and even the earliest articles retain relevance and will be of continuing interest.

Most studies of Asia-Pacific security are marked by pessimism and continuing belief in the virtues of a balance of power. Pacific Asia? goes against the grain by pointing to a number of positive developments--especially economic--in regional relationships, the absence of an arms race, the growth of multilateral groups, and an emerging consensus on the importance of nonmilitary paths to national security. Above all, Mel Gurtov stresses a definition of security that focuses on basic human needs, social justice, and environmental protection. The author disagrees with proponents of a China threat, criticizes U.S. Cold War notions of security through forward-based power, and argues for new efforts at regional dialogue based on multilateral cooperation, sensitivity to Asian nationalism, and a role for Japan as a 'global civilian power.'

This journal’s objective is to provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience, ideas, information and data on all aspects of economic and social development issues and concerns facing the region and aims to stimulate policy debate and assist in the formulation of policy. The development experience in the Asian and the Pacific region has stood out as an extraordinary example of what can be achieved when policymakers, experts, scholars and people at large harness their creativity, knowledge and foresight. The Journal provides a scholarly means for bringing together research work by eminent social scientists and development practitioners from the region and beyond for use by a variety of stakeholders. It aims to stimulate policy debate and assist in the formulation of policy in the region.