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New Index Shows South Asia Is Ill-Equipped to Cope with Change

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New Index Shows South Asia Is Ill-Equipped to Cope with Change

Two weeks ago a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Pakistan, killing more than 300 people and leaving thousands homeless. This came on the heels of floods in August that affected almost 1.5 million people. India, for its part, has not suffered any major natural disasters recently but is facing a larger challenge of continued economic slowdown. Its growth rate has dropped for two quarters in a row in 2013, reaching 4.4 percent, and it has faced a major currency crisis as well. Afghanistan, meanwhile, faces the prospects of even more fundamental challenges to regime stability and state cohesion after the U.S. military drawdown in eight months, as there are no signs there will be peace with the Taliban in the near future.

These situations represent some of the sudden shocks and long-term change-drivers that countries can potentially face. To assess a country’s preparedness for such changes, KPMG and Oxford Economics created a new tool in 2012 called the Change Readiness Index (CRI). This year’s index was launched at the United Nations ahead of the 2013 General Assembly sessions. The CRI measures readiness by assessing the capability of a country’s government, enterprises and public and civil society-the three pillars of a state-to prepare for, manage and respond to drivers of change by mitigating adverse impacts and using opportunities to achieve sustained growth and raise living standards.

This article was published by World Politics Review on October 10, 2013. To continue reading, click here.

Shehzad H. Qazi is a Research Associate at ISPU.

ISPU scholars are provided a space on our site to display a selection of op-eds. These were not necessarily commissioned by ISPU, nor is their presence on the site equal to an endorsement of the content. The opinions expressed are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ISPU.



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