Resources on labour market governance and working conditions

High-Level Regional Forum on Responding to the Economic Crisis - Coherent Policies for Growth, Employment and Decent Work in Asia and the Pacific

18 February 2009

In coping with the current crisis, most countries in Asia and the Pacific benefit from sound financial institutions and a record of sustained growth and macroeconomic stability. Poverty however remains widespread and systems of social protection are fragile and underdeveloped. Even a slight decline in the rates of economic growth can have dramatic social repercussions, particularly among vulnerable sectors and groups. Social distress intersects with political instabilities and tensions. A strong Asian response to the crisis is a critical component of the strategy to set the global economy on a sustainable path out of recession.