This article discusses South Asian monetary integration in light of the Optimum Currency Area criterion of patterns of shocks. Patterns of shocks indicate the cost resulting from adjustment to balance of payments disequilibrium due to pursuing a fixed or a flexible exchange rate strategy....

Though SAARC has the stated goal of an economic union and a common currency, after a quarter of a century, these remain distant goals as political tensions between India and Pakistan have hindered any real progress on a regional scale. Barriers to trade and factor mobility are high in the region...

Nepal and India are developing countries in Asia whose (hard) peg has existed for almost forty years as well as no restriction on capital mobility between both countries. However, empirical results suggest that Nepal and India do not face symmetric patterns of shocks and are thus not suitable...

Out-of-pocket (OOP) payments are the principal means of financing health care throughout much of Asia. We estimate the magnitude and distribution of OOP payments for health care in fourteen countries and territories accounting for 81% of the Asian population. We focus on payments that are...

We estimate the distributional incidence of health care financing in 13 Asian territories that account for 55% of the Asian population. In all territories, higher-income households contribute more to the financing of health care. The better-off contribute more as a proportion of ability to pay...

Urbanization and Externalities -- Methods of Measuring Externalities -- Measurement Strategies of Externalities -- Externalities in Kathmandu -- Externalities in Quito -- Policy Implications and Conclusions.