"It is generally acknowledged that PRC's higher education faces a serious funding shortfall. While the number of university students grew 2.91 times between 1998 and 2004, the government financial allocation for education grew only 1.78 times. Governments at all levels should bear their liability for funding higher education as the amount of money they invested has turned out to be insufficient.

The central government should also improve relevant credit policy to reduce universities' financial risks. It should open up more channels so that money from various segments of society can be injected into universities, and a market-oriented mechanism can be set up to let more parties, whether public or private, join the development of education."

"Until a few months ago, the most popular buzz phrase for India was 'economic miracle,' with the nation appearing impervious to the financial turmoil engulfing the developed world. But now inflation is at 13-year highs and economic expansion is slowing, prompting an exit by foreign investors as gloomy warnings pile up.

Some economists forecast inflation, which has nearly tripled from a year ago, could hit at least 15 percent. The government has already shifted gears, saying it is giving priority to subduing prices over boosting growth. While official growth forecasts for the year to March 2009 range from 7.7 to 8 percent some brokerages see it as low as seven percent. That's still strong by Western levels, but not enough to lift India's hundreds of millions from poverty."

"In 2005 Afghanistan drew up a master plan to revive the agricultural sector. But with ongoing security problems and the undeniable lure of the opium industry, its implementation and success faces many challenges. Afghanistan is the center of origin of several crops such as carrot, plum, apricot, pistachio and almond. But much of its natural and genetic resource base now stands damaged.

Crop experts in Afghanistan estimate that horticulture is the only sector that offers competitive financial returns. These once made up 40 percent of Afghanistan's exports. But today the sector is hindered by antiquated production methods, old or non-existent processing facilities, and a lack of commercial nurseries."

"Trade can help alleviate poverty, but the relationship between trade and poverty is quite complex. An increase in trade does not necessarily lead to poverty alleviation. This is due to the fact that a phenomenon like trade affects not only growth and revenue generation, but also employment opportunities, consumer prices, and food security, and the correlations between these impacts are not necessarily positive.

Developing countries like Pakistan need to realize that environmental issues in an era of escalating problems like climate change will not disappear from the global trade system. Policy makers in Pakistan must make efforts to not only safeguard the country's own soil from polluting foreign investors but also aim to improve the environmental friendliness of its sovereign industries in order to assure them greater access to international markets."

"According to a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, the increase in global food prices is pushing more people into poverty, making standard measures of inflation useless when gauging the impact on this socially critical sector. The study argues that the Consumer Price Index does not take into account that the impact of price changes varies across social classes due to their different consumption patterns.

The poor allocate almost 60% of their expenditure on food while the same proportion of total expenditure is spent on non-food, such as housing, among the non-poor. The study proposed an alternative price index for the poor that more accurately reflects this social class's consumption pattern."

"The Indian government has signed a five-year action plan with UNICEF to promote the survival and well-being of its children. The program will share the country's burden on health, education, sanitation and AIDS through interventions and partnerships while also ensure special protection to disadvantaged children.

About one-fifth of the world's children live in India. The country's progress is key to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The main interventions will revolve around enhancing more equitable coverage of immunization, child survival and maternal care, while strengthening health systems."

"Compared to their foreign peers, local banks in Viet Nam find it more difficult to attract clients. Global corporations already have established business relationships with international banks and do not have the capacity to finance large projects.

A 2006 study by the International Monetary Fund found that foreign banks in developing countries have a less risky loan portfolio. They lend to safer and more transparent customers. The domestic banking sector needs to become more effective through improved capital, liquidity and risk management, as well as stricter monitoring of all financial activities."

"Against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown, PRC's economy has still witnessed a sizzling growth of 10.4 percent in the first half of this year. As inflation rises, the solution should focus on promoting production speed, and ensuring an effective supply of products, especially those in great demand.

The beefing up of the national economy has brought a bumper revenue to central finances and thus strengthened the state's ability in payment transfers, balancing regional interests and providing taxpayers public services. The government should give up purely administrative means as the main tool to maintain the low prices of commodities. It should also increase subsidies to lower-income groups."

"It is estimated that there are more than a million migrants from Myanmar living and working in Thailand, of whom around 500,000 are registered with the Thai Ministry of Labor. Many end up in Mahachai, home to the highest concentration of migrant workers from Myanmar in Thailand. Located a short distance from Bangkok, Mahachai attracts thousands of Myanmarese with low-paying jobs in the fish processing industry that are shunned by most Thais.

While Thai efforts seem to be doing little to prevent illegal migration into the country, authorities in Myanmar have been carrying out a crackdown on their side of the border that appears to be having some effect, at least for now."

"The five biggest domestic catfish exporters in Viet Nam have met to discuss measures to increase the export price by 5 percent. They hope to help end stagnation in the catfish market. The five companies will work together to raise the price of catfish paid to breeders. They agreed to propose the common price, which will be considered the ceiling price for all other catfish exporters.

The sharp increase in catfish exports in recent times has helped to increase the agro-forestry and fisheries sector's revenue to $2.885 billion, up 20 percent compared to the same period last year attaining a three-year record growth rate."

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