This report investigates how more and better jobs can be created in South Asia. It does so for two reasons. First, this region will contribute nearly 40 percent of the growth in the world’s working-age (15–64) population over the next several decades. It is important to determine...

Speech of Pranab Mukherjee Minister of Finance, India. [Budget Speech]. URL:[http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2012-13/bs/bs.pdf].

The paper reviews India’s macroeconomic performance and policies since 2000. The first section briefly summarizes key macroeconomic developments regarding economic growth, inflation, external balance, the fiscal situation and aggregate savings and investment. The second section considers...

The study examines the impact of aggregate government expenditure and its two broader components such as revenue expenditure and capital expenditure on the growth rate of output in the Indian context along with other key potential determinants of economic growth such as trade openness and...

This paper assesses recent theorising and empirical evidence on the impact of fiscal policy—taxes, public expenditures and budget deficits—on long-run growth. It considers the relevance of recent advances in growth theory for low-income countries and compares the evidence for...

All proposals and policy measures in the forthcoming Budget may best be summed up as efforts to improve the sustainability of growth. Specific objectives are likely to be lowering inflation and deficits - fiscal and current account. While no major overhaul of taxes are expected, if the...

This paper discusses and comments on the legal and policy dimension and the obstacles it poses to a sustainable and effective response to HIV/AIDS as many do not come forward to obtain medical services for fear of violence, stigma and discrimination. The paper highlights that low prevalence...

This report on the state of displaced persons in the North and East of Sri Lanka analyses the security conditon and concerns of those who live in makeshifts and camps in conflict affected areas. It provides an overview of the current ground situation, i.e. the altered displacement landscape and...

It is often assumed that poverty reduction would lead to gender equality. Research however, points to the opposite, namely, that increasing prosperity can have perverse gender effects . It is therefore important to make a conceptual distinction between projects that seek to reduce poverty and...

2008 Budget presented by His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa