Regional economic engagement within South Asia may gain increasing importance owing to several factors that are currently in play, including strategies to diversify global value chains and locate such value chains nearer home. These developments offer South Asia a chance to enhance its low levels of regional economic engagement and capitalize on significant unrealized development opportunities. This report shows that examining intraregional investment and knowledge connectivity enhances our understanding of the low levels of intraregional trade and limited regional value chains in South Asia. Creating a new and unique data set for South Asian investment, it provides a detailed and nuanced understanding of the drivers of outward investment, both regional and global, for South Asian firms. “Regional Investment Pioneers in South Asia†? provides key considerations for policy makers in South Asia, which remain particularly relevant in the aftermath of the pandemic. First, it makes a case for regulatory relaxation of outward FDI regimes, based on new micro foundations, grounded in value chains. Second, it spells out details of smart inward FDI promotion techniques and investment facilitation. Third, it identifies distinct cross-border information-enhancing and network development activities. Fourth, it suggests that digital connectivity and continued interventions in reducing trade costs are warranted to increase investment as well as trade flows. There is particular scope to build on the digitalization initiatives in trade and investment facilitation taken during the pandemic. “Regional Investment Pioneers in South Asia†? follows on, and is complementary to, the earlier World Bank report, “A Glass Half Full: the Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia.†?

This report is framed within the same context as its predecessor, ?A Glass Half Full: The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia," namely, the sub-optimal level of economic engagement within South Asia. It focuses on intraregional investment, from an outward investment lens, using a unifying framework of international engagement strategies.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows started gaining traction in South Asia from the late 20th century onwards, when nations from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) began moving away from highly controlled regimes and adopting liberal and open economic policies.In the context of surplus labour and capital scarcity faced by South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, to varying degrees, the economic reform process has provided an opportunity to actively promote inward FDI flows, with the goal of providing the much-needed capital for the growth of this region. Several policy initiatives were undertaken to attract FDI and incentives were announced to fascinate investors, resulting in the inflow of FDI across the region.This book examines FDI inflows in SAARC nations in the light of regional policy changes in the 21st century. It investigates the relationship between trade and FDI in the region, and also provides insights into the ease of doing business in the SAARC region.

This important collection of essays covers such subjects as the impact of changing global trade policies on India; the charting of a free trade area in South Asia; India’s informal trade with Bangladesh and Nepal; India-Bangladesh bilateral trade; a plan to strengthen regional trade cooperation in South Asia with special reference to India and Pakistan; a comparative analysis of the Chinese and Indian experience of multinational and expatriate foreign direct investment; foreign direct investment and economic integration in the SAARC region and health policy challenges for India.

South Asian leaders have made it a priority to tackle key regional issues such as poverty, environment degradation, trade and investment barriers and food insecurity, among others.

Building a skilled and diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is crucial for economic development, cross-border trade, and social inclusion in South Asia. However, underrepresentation of girls and women in STEM education and careers remains a persistent issue. What kinds of macro and micro socioeconomic interventions are needed to increase girls' and women's access to and participation in STEM education and careers in South Asia? This book compares trends in South Asia with global trends to examine how access to and choices of STEM fields affect girls' enrollment in upper secondary education, technical and vocational education and training, and higher education in the region as well as their selection of careers. Based on the analysis, it offers recommendations to policy makers and practitioners to improve inclusion. The following are among the findings: (1) The five key opportunities to foster inclusion and enrollment in STEM education--and staunch the 'leaky pipeline'--are at the upper primary, lower and upper secondary, and tertiary education levels, and during the early career years; (2) A strong pathway from STEM education to career depends on an integrated, systematic approach that motivates students to pursue STEM fields, builds STEM skills, and removes barriers to diversity; (3) With the increasing migration of workers between countries in South Asia, preparing a critical mass of semiskilled and skilled STEM migrant workers has cross-border value, especially for workers migrating from smaller to larger economies. New ways of defining STEM occupations are required to help develop and sustain female interest in STEM education and careers. Potential strategies that governments can pursue include raising awareness and building knowledge and skills in STEM outside the formal academic environment--such as in after-school programs, science fairs and competitions, and summer camps--and developing and systematically disseminating standardized resources. Inclusion and diversity must be championed by governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders who stand to benefit from more diverse workforces. Though women themselves would likely be credible champions, in South Asia they are often constrained by a range of factors. This report addresses some of those obstacles.