As an important part of this work, in 2003 a series of studies were undertaken on the effectiveness of various measures aimed at channeling resources directly at the poor and vulnerable ? so-called ?poverty targeting?. Five important countries were selected for study ? India, Indonesia, the People?s Republic of China, the Philippines and Thailand. The results of this work were discussed at an internal workshop in Tokyo in November 2003 and the fi nal drafts were produced in mid-2004. Edited versions of these are presented here as country chapters. In addition in 2003 ADBI commenced work on issues relating to microfi nance with a major conference on this topic held in Tokyo in December 2003. The fi nal chapter of this volume was presented at that conference as a survey of knowledge on the impact of micro-fi nance institutions on poverty in Asia.