Drawing on case studies from across Southeast Asia, this work assesses poverty and the ways in which the poor are identified and viewed. Progress and change in the rural and urban worlds are examined in detail, focusing on the strengthening rural-urban interaction as farmers make a living in the urban-industrial sector and factories relocate into industrial areas. Giving prominence to indigenous notions of development, based on Buddhism, Islam and the so-called Asian Way, the author critically assesses the conceptual foundations of the development, ideas of post developmentalism, and the miracle thesis.