South Asian Economic Development in the Era of Global Turbulence

South Asia’s developing nations have been enjoying moderate to high growth over the past decade before the global pandemic of 2020 began. This new edition provides an up-to-date guide to the growing markets in South Asia in the post-COVID-19 period. It offers an analysis of the changes and consequences of high sustainable growth, investigating what has been achieved in the region over the last 2001-2023 from a macroeconomic viewpoint, identifying new challenges to 2030, and the end of the UNSDGs period.

Part I of the textbook presents an analysis of how South Asia is rated against Southeast and East Asia in recent decades in economic and social terms.

Part II focuses on South Asia’s economic development over 2000 and the bearly 2020s. It demonstrates that globalization enhanced global trade and that trade further increased the region’s prosperity up to 2020.

Part III identifies major governance issues that were responsible for South Asia’s social and economic underperformance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This new edition includes a new chapter about AI and South Asia in the future. The textbook advocates for a shift in focus from policy reform per se to the more challenging task of implementing institutional reform that will invigorate the capability of the political leadership to bring about rapid, sustained and poverty-reducing growth in South Asia in post-Covid era. The book also considers climate change and the environment, and it analyses the impact of these changes and developments on the economic health and social conditions in South Asia. The concluding chapter demonstrates current political unrest in three South Asian nations, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, termed the South Asian Spring.

Offering an analysis of the changes and consequences of high sustainable growth in South Asia, this textbook will be useful for students and researchers in Development Economics, Business Economics, Development Studies, and Asian Studies.

"The third edition of South Asian Economic Development builds on the success of the previous editions to provide an accessible and topical overview of South Asian economies. The third edition covers all the major areas that are relevant for students of South Asian economies – macroeconomic development, trade, industry, agriculture and so on. There is also a valuable comparison with other Asian economies and as well as an insightful discussion of the governance and policy challenges facing the South Asian region today. The book will be useful to students, scholars, and policy makers and should be on the reading list of anyone who would like to know more about the recent economic developments of an increasingly important region in the world economy."

-- Kunal Sen, Director, The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Japan

Moazzem Hossain is an adjunct in the Department of Business Strategy and Innovation (BSI) under Griffith Business School at Griffith University, Australia, and a former SMR professional fellow at the University of Hull, United Kingdom. He is also the founder chairman of the University of Skill Enrichment and Technology, Bangladesh.

E.A Selvanathan is a professor of economics in the Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics at Griffith University, Australia. He is also the director of the Economic Policy Analysis Program of the Business School.

Maneka Jayasinghe is a senior lecturer in economics and head of the business discipline at the Asia Pacific College of Business and Law at Charles Darwin University, Australia.

Saroja Selvanathan is professor of econometrics in the Economics and Business Statistics Discipline, the Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics at Griffith University, Australia.

Rajat Kathuria is a professor at the Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, New Delhi, India.

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