This book deals with poverty monitoring and alleviation in East Asia. This is currently an area of great interest to scholars, activists, policy-makers and the public. Prior to the onset of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, many were optimistic that the problem of poverty would be tempered in the short run. They predicted the crisis would be short-lived and the whole region would get back on track towards rapid economic development. Yet, the impacts of the crisis endure and in many of East Asian countries, poverty, along with income inequality, has emerged as a serious social problem. In this book, the authors emphasise an important role for the state in poverty monitoring and alleviation efforts, contrary to the prevalent belief in small government and unbridled economic growth as a solution to poverty.