This collection of essays explores the economic growth experience over the last fifty years in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is based on in-depth reviews by national experts in these countries. The experiences of South Asian countries are analysed from an integrated perspective. The success stories of these countries--their similar yet different backgrounds notwithstanding--provide rich material for a comparative study. Each essay, while succinctly capturing the essence of growth processes in all the countries, answers a number of questions: How have policy regimes, free market, trade restrictions, import substitution, export promotion, different degrees of regulation and control affected growth outcomes? How has the nature of polity, political stability and size of majority affected development? What has been the role of civil society organizations in development? What has been the impact of initial conditions, trade surplus, level of literacy and industrial development? What are the points where growth trajectories changed? The book concludes with a statistical appendix which brings to the fore the macroeconomic growth spread over the last five years. This volume will be of immense value to students, researchers and academics in development economics, analysts, experts, and to all those interested in development and growth of South Asia.