ABSTRACT
This is a handbook on the economics of South Asia. The major countries in this region are Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Within this region India is the dominant country in terms of all major indicators including geographical area, population and GDP. According to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators 2009, for instance, in terms of constant 2000 US dollars Indian GDP accounted for 79.1 per cent of the combined GDPs of the aforementioned major countries in South Asia. In 2008 India accounted for 72.84 per cent of the land area, 72.84 per cent of the land under cereal production and 75.25 per cent of the population in this region. In keeping with the predominance of India in this region this handbook has some chapters that focus exclusively on India. This chapter has two purposes: to provide a brief overview of the economy of the region,
and to introduce the substantial chapters in this volume. In particular, it will focus on economic growth as this has been found to be the principal vehicle for both improving livelihoods and reducing poverty.
