Economic Reform Processes in South Asia

Book excerpt: While South Asia’s economic reform initiatives of the last two decades were often born in crisis, this alone does not account for their occurrence. This book looks at the processes and institutional arrangements behind these reforms, and analyses what lessons can be learnt about how South Asia can improve its policy efficiency. The book develops ideas about how to overcome the political restraints to reform by drawing on recent theories of political economy and policy learning. It tests these ideas against authoritative case studies of actual reform initiatives in South Asia, which illustrate processes and institutional arrangements that have helped South Asian governments to sustain reform efforts, even in the absence of a strong political base. This offers valuable lessons for the global economy as it moves into a phase of rebalancing, with the structural adjustments that this will require. The book goes on to identify weaknesses that could be addressed by South Asian national governments and regional forums. It is an important contribution to studies on South Asian Politics and International Political Economy