South Asian economies are undergoing unprecedented transformation with changes in global markets and national level policy reforms to promote the liberalization and privatization of manufacturing and marketing. Yet little is known about the ways in which these changes are impacting on the poor and how these differ by region. There is also insufficient information on how the poor can take advantages of new opportunities that may arise from globalisation processes while minimising potentially negative consequences. There is a need to improve our understanding of these processes especially as they relate to the environment, rural livelihoods and labour markets and gender relations.