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Women, Jobs, and Growth

South Asia¡¯s growth is on track to exceed earlier expectations, in a broad-based upturn. The region is expected to remain the fastest-growing among emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). But South Asian countries also have considerable untapped potential that could help them further boost productivity growth and employment and adapt to climate change. In particular, with about two-thirds of the region¡¯s working-age women out of the labor force, raising female employment rates to those of men could increase per capita income by as much as one-half. Measures to accelerate job creation, remove obstacles to women working, and equalize gender rights would be more effective if combined with a shift toward social norms that looked more favorably on working women.

Institutional constraints and weak capacity often hamper the ability of local governments in developing countries to steer urbanization. As a result, there are not enough cities to accommodate an unabated rural-urban migration and many of those that exist are messy, sprawling, and disconnected. The flipside is the emergence of entire cities¡ªmore than gated communities or industrial parks¡ªled in whole or in part by private actors. To date, little systematic research has been conducted on the conditions that are necessary for such unusual entities to emerge, on the roles played by private actors, or on the consequences for efficiency and equity.

South Asia¡¯s outlook is shaped by both good and bad news in the global economy. Lower commodity prices, a strong recovery in the services sector, and reduced disruptions in value chains are aiding South Asia¡¯s recovery but rising interest rates and uncertainty in financial markets are putting downward pressure on the region¡¯s economies. Going forward, broad reform programs are needed to put South Asia on a more robust and inclusive growth path. Inequality of opportunity, which is higher in South Asia than in other regions of the world, is both unfair and inefficient. Reducing inequality of opportunity and increasing economic mobility will help broaden countries¡¯ tax base and boost support from the population for the critical reforms.

Nine out of the world¡¯s 10 cities with the worst air pollution are in South Asia. Concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in some of the region¡¯s most densely populated and poor areas are up to 20 times higher than what WHO considers healthy (5 ?g/m?). It causes an estimated 2 million premature deaths in the region each year and incurs significant economic costs. Air pollution travels long distances in South Asia and gets trapped in large ¡°airsheds¡± that are shaped by climatology and geography. This report identifies six major airsheds in the region, analyzes four scenarios to reduce air pollution, and offers a roadmap for airshed-wide air quality management.