In each round of the Inquiry, special topics were included on which administrators were asked to give their perceptions. Here we can briefly review some of those substantive findings.

Poverty. It is relatively easy to provide a general assessment of poverty, and the administrators views were forthcoming. They showed a definite pattern related to the country's level of economic development, and were strongly bi-modal: either poverty is no problem, or it is a very serious problem. In Japan and South Korea, poverty was not considered a problem. Nor was it in Malaysia. These are all three countries with very low levels of unemployment, and where rapid economic growth has in fact often produced labor shortages. In the poorer countries, however, poverty was seen as a major problem. Even where there has been substantial economic growth, rapid population growth has been associated with substantial levels of poverty.

Though these views are clear and clearly stated, with very few non-responses in the questionnaires, specifying poverty levels and amounts was more difficulty. The definition of poverty is neither common nor clear. Administrators provide a wide range of estimates of the income floor below which families or individuals are considered in poverty. Nor could they provide consistent estimates of the proportion of the population living in poverty. These more specific questions tended to have large non-response rates and to show the wide variation that indicates there is no commonly accepted definition.

Quality of Life Indicators. As might be expected quality of life indicators varied greatly by level of economic development. For administrators from the poorer countries the most important indicators were income, employment, housing, health and education. If these were high or rising, the quality of life was improving. Where these indicators were low, the quality of life was low. In Japan and South Korea, and to a lesser extent in Malaysia as well, these indicators were less important, because they tended to be universally high. What was more important for these more wealth countries were problems of pollution, and traffic congestion.

Urban Pollution. Findings on urban pollution sources were especially revealing on the complex question of the relation between population growth and environmental degradation. For all administrators air pollution was a major problem and for all, automobile exhaust was a, or the, major cause. Everywhere automobiles are growing more rapidly than the human population, and everywhere this is giving rise to problems of congestion and rising air pollution.

Water pollution is another problem, especially for the poorer countries without the resources to maintain adequate levels of quantity or quality. For the wealthy countries, when water pollution is a problem, it derives from industrial wastes. For the poor countries, the administrators see clearly that a major source of their water problems comes from rapid population growth. The combination of high fertility, high natural increase, and rapid urban in-migration have overwhelmed their water and sewage infrastructure and produced serious problems in both water quality and water quantity.

Status and Empowerment of Women. Reflecting the rising interest in women's status, especially reflected in the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development, the Inquiries asked about the status of women. First came a series of questions on the relative advantages of men and women in a series of life conditions, from health and education, to employment, income and power. Administrators everywhere perceived that women were not at a disadvantage in areas of education or health. Advances in these areas made throughout Asia in the past half century have been enjoyed as much (or almost as much) by women as by men. But the administrators also recognized that in areas of income, access to employment, and to positions of power and influence women were at a considerable disadvantage.

In the fourth round of the survey, the issue of women's status was addressed through questions on the empowerment of women. First, administrators were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement, "It is said that sustainable development will not be achieved without the empowerment of women." The question received a response rate of 75%, and of the 327 who responded, over 90 percent agreed. Only in Japan did the agreement level fall below 90%; Just over 80 percent of the Japanese administrators agreed, and 15 percent did not know. Then administrators were asked what should be done to empower women. The most common response was the promotion of education, or of vocational training. In Japan, in addition, administrators thought that the increase of social services to relieve women of household burdens would be important.

Awareness of the International Conference on Population and Development. The fourth round of the Inquiry asked if administrators thought their populations were aware of the ICPD programme of Action. About two-third reported that their citizens were not aware of the ICPD and its program of action. This proportion was as low as 47 percent in Pakistan and as high as 75 percent in Indonesia. Neither the ICPD, nor its programme of action stressing the importance of improvement in the status of women seem to be very well known among the urban population in Asia.