The United Nations Asian and Pacific Development Institute (UNAPDI) is one of the three regional institutes established in Asia, Africa and Latin America for training and research in development by a UN General Assembly Resolution in 1961. Its present work programme is based on the central theme of eradicating poverty, unemployment and inequality in six programme areas: rural development, least-developed develop- ing countries, urban development, national development, intranational and international cooperation, and development information. Each programme is divided into subject areas : agriculture, industry and trade, infrastructure and national resources, social development and human resources including population and family planning, financial policies and insti- tutes, and environment. This multi-disciplinary analysis is reinforced by multi-level approach to formulation, implementa- tion and evaluation of plans. The UNAPDI also functions as the Secretariat of the Association of Development Research and Training Institutes of Asia and the Pacific (ADIPA) to which some 150 national institutes within the geographical scope of the ESCAP are affi- liated. Through the ADIPA it organizes research and consul- tation activities in technical cooperation in the region. During the seventeen years of its existence nearly 4000 fellows from almost all the 38 regional member-countries, both developed and developing, have participated in its seminars and courses and nearly 1000 from both within and outside the ESCAP region have participated in various consultative meet- ings organized since 1974. The UNAPDI is the recipient of the “Maurice Pate Memorial Award” of the UNICEF for its contribution to unified approach to development. The UNAPDI has prepared many research papers and brought out several publications and training materials, both printed and mimeographed. The present volume is one of them.