Dr Nagesh Kumar is Director, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) - South and South-West Asia Office, New Delhi, India. His previous positions include Chief Economist and Director of Social Development at UNESCAP, and Director General of Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India. He has served on the boards of Exim Bank of India and International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Geneva and has published 17 books and 100 peer- reviewed papers on different aspects of economic development.