The Asian Crisis and Human Development

Abstract

Summary The article analyses from a Human Development perspective the adjustment process in five Asian countries seriously affected by the crisis. The previous impressive record in improving human development was due to a rapid fall in Private and Social Income Poverty arising from a sustained growth in incomes, reasonably well allocated. The substantial fall in incomes following the crisis, therefore, potentially had a large poverty-creating effect while there were few mechanisms in place – traditional or government-supported – to insulate people. The article recommends both short-term policies to help protect human development, including employment schemes, food subsidies, and income-generating projects, and protection of all public expenditures on human development-priorities in health and education against cuts, and longer-term policies to introduce insurance schemes. But the most critical requirement to promote human development is a resumption of economic growth.