UNRISD commissioned eight overview papers which looked at the 'Development Strategies, Welfare Regime and Poverty Reduction' in the following cases:
- China: Jean Oi (Stanford University, US)
- Finland: Jaakko Kiander (Government Institute for Economic Research, Finland)
- Former Soviet Union: Alistair McAuley (University of Essex, UK)
- Ireland: Peadar Kirby (University of Limerick, Ireland)
- Republic of Korea: Huck-ju Kwon (Sung Kyun Kwan University, Republic of Korea)
- Singapore: Chua Beng Huat (National University of Singapore, Singapore)
- Sri Lanka: Saman Kelegama (Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka)
- Viet Nam: Do Duc Dinh (Institute of World Economy, Viet Nam)