Review Article: Social Policy and Development in Global Context

This article reviews three recent books on social policy and development: Social Policy for Development; Insecurity and Welfare Regimes in Asia, Africa and Latin America; and Limits to Globalization. In reviewing these books, this essay discusses national and global constraints that hinder the integration of social and economic delopment. It argues that social policy can be an effective instrument for overcoming economic and political challenges facing the developing countries. In the global context, it argues that for fairer globalisation and inclusive development, it is as important to secure policy autonomy for the developing countries as to get the International Financial Institutions' development policy right.