"Liberation from Liberalization challenges the neo-liberal claim that free market policies bring prosperity and economic development. Bahramitash focuses particularly on Southeast Asia, where expansion of free markets has led to high GNP per capita growth over the past few decades. Focusing on this region, the book examines the economic policies adopted in Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines. Drawing upon state-centred theories, the author argues that limiting the role of the state has been responsible for growing poverty, especially among women. Seventy per cent of those earning less than a dollar a day are women, and poverty among rural women in growing much faster than it is among men. In order to reverse economic liberalization, the state must be brought back into the economy as a major player and become responsible for providing welfare for its citizens."--Jacket.