This book analyzes various important aspects of methodology and substance regarding economic, social, and political policy in Asia directed toward achieving more effective, efficient, and equitable societal institutions. The chapters are authored by experts from within Asia and also from Asia research institutes elsewhere. The book combines practical policy significance with insightful causal and prescriptive generalizations. The emphasis is on the role of governmental decision-making and the important (but secondary) role of the marketplace, social groups, and engineering.

Notes on the Contributors - Introduction: Asia Development and Super-Optimizing Analysis; S.S.Nagel - PART 1: ECONOMIC POLICY - Political Consequences of Rapid Economic Development: The Singapore Case; J.S.T.Quah - The State, Society, and Democratization in South Korea: The Impact of Deepening Industrialization; C-S.Ahn - India's Textile Policy and the Informal Sectors; S.Misra - PART 2: SOCIAL POLICY - Social Welfare Policies: A Glimpse of the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal; K.Medhi - Political Education and Political Socialization in a Pluralistic Society: A Case Study of Two Generations of Women in India; V.L.Pandit - PART 3: TECHNOLOGY POLICY - The Earth Protection: The Theory, Technological Policies, and Practice in China; O.Kang - Science, Technology, and National Goals: A Study of the Role of the Indian Council in Agricultural Research in the Agricultural Development in India; O.P.Sharma - Environmental Management in the Republic of Korea: Origin, Policy, Program, Questions; Y.H.Choi - The State and Information Technology in India: Emerging Trends; P.Thomas - PART 5: POLITICAL POLICY - Administrative Reform in the Asian Pacific Region: Issues and Prospects; R.de Guzman & M.A.Reforma - Inter-Governmental Relations in India; R.Thandavan - The Transformation of Authoritarianism in Postwar Taiwan; C-J.Shiau - Changes and Conflicts in the Gulf; M.Mozaffari - Index