ADB hails RI employment

ADB hails RI employment

MANILA (AFP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday
praised Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand for their
success in generating employment compared to their South Asian
counterparts.

The bank said the nations' success was a result of a balanced
combination of liberal trade policies and less government
intervention.

Unemployment rates in these countries stand at two or three
percent, while the degree of unemployment and underemployment in
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka remains high, ADB Vice-
President Peter Sullivan said.

In his address at the opening of an ADB conference on
employment creation, he said minimal state intervention in the
labor market, concentration of job-enhancing activities and tax
revenues to provide safety nets for the unemployed, were among
the characteristics of the successful countries.

These states "aggressively" imported foreign capital and
technology to boost demand for labor and have diversified their
economies, he added.