South Asian leaders have made it a priority to tackle key regional issues such as poverty, environment degradation, trade and investment barriers and food insecurity, among others.

This book, by the former chief of the World Bank Mission in Central Asia, presents an assessment of Pakistan's economic record and performance over the last fifty years. Hasan examines the role of politics and economic policies in explaining Pakistan's development experience and highlights the sources of present economic difficulties. A unique feature of the book is that the analysis of the period prior to separation presents trends for East and West Pakistan separately and focuses on inter-regional economic issues that became so divisive in the final years of united Pakistan. Drawing on these past lessons, the book also presents an agenda for policy and institutional reform for the future.