1. Introduction : development and welfare policy in South Asia / Gabriele Koehler and Deepta Chopra -- 2. Some preliminary reflections on development, public policy and welfare states / Gabriele Koehler -- 3. Approaching developmental welfare states : a 'welfare geography' of South Asia / Gabriele Koehler -- 4. Fiscal space in South Asia : evidence for the welfare state / Aniruddha Bonnerjee -- 5. Development, welfare and governance : explaining Bangladesh's 'development surprise' / Wahiduddin Mahmud and Simeen Mahmud -- 6. The Indian case : towards a rights-based welfare state? / Deepta Chopra -- 7. The Maldives : the shifting nature of a welfare state / Aniruddha Bonnerjee -- 8. Nepal : social policy in a nascent welfare state / Yuba Raj Khatiwada and Gabriele Koehler -- 9. Political economy of reform : social protection reform in Pakistan / Haris Gazdar -- 10. Sri Lanka's experience of social development : towards equity and justice / Laksiri Jayasuriya -- 11. Social sector spending in South Asia : a mixed bag / Aniruddha Bonnerjee -- 12. Welfare, development and rights in South Asia / Deepta Chopra.