This is a compilation of two technical background papers prepared for the Asia-Pacific Human Development Report ‘Trade on Human Terms’.

The first paper ‘National Trade and Development Strategies: Suggested Policy Directions’ considers the impressive performance of some Asian economies, whose gains have been translated into significant poverty reduction and human development advances. Based on a variety of domestic policies and strategies, the paper suggests a purposeful approach to economic integration and globalization. A strategic national trade and industrial policy that focuses on selective and time bound infant industry protection can be catalytic. The paper also hones in on the key role of other sectoral and macro-economic policies, particularly in the area of trade in agriculture and the services.

The second paper ‘Trade and Health in Asia: Challenges of Globalization’ investigates the pros and cons of approaches for boosting health services and trade. She examines a range of issues spanning privatization, health tourism and the phenomenon of ‘brain drain’. Advantages and drawbacks of international commitments are also spotlighted, coming on the heels of changes to GATS and TRIPS agreements. Governments that focus on trade and health services could reap concrete and immediate benefits. Adjusting trade policies to enhance health services is quite an uncharted territory through which many countries in the region are picking their own course, for example by health tourism.