Growth rates were slow and predictions forecast a bleak future of increasing poverty and economic decline. Subsequent economic successes meant the region has recorded the most sustained and rapid growth this century. At the same time, the incidence of people living in poverty has fallen from 1 in 3 to 1 in 10. This trend shows that economic stagnation and poverty are not inevitable. The research looks at the experience of East Asian countries, drawing on macro-economic evidence and data from Oxfam's work with the poor in the region.
Much poverty remains in East Asia.
The poor are often exploited and displaced or adversely affected by environmental problems. The development of participative political structures which might challenge this situation is lacking. Economic reforms in the 1990s have also tended to widen inequalities as progress towards human development has slowed. Industrial development strategies that maximise employment opportunities to ensure both growth and poverty alleviation. Pro-poor rural development policies, including agrarian reform and infrastructural support for smallholders in production and marketing.