The concern of this discourse on social development planning was that individuals be part of human resources development. Population growth is an obstacle to social development, but so is national expenditures on the military rather than diverting funds for social improvements. There are important benefits for society in social development: a valued consumption good, increased productivity, and reduced fertility. Dissatisfaction with an economic growth model of development occurred during the 1960s, and by the mid-1980s, human resource development was capsuled in Asia and the Pacific Region in the Jakarta Plan of Action on Human Resources Development and adopted in 1988. Earlier approaches favored the supply side. This article emphasizes "human" development which considers people as more than inputs to productivity. The quality of human resources is dependent on the family and society, the educational system, and individual levels of health and nutrition. Differences in income levels between East and South Asia have been attributed by Oshima to full use of the labor force and mechanization and training of workers. Ogawa, Jones, and Williamson contend that huge investment in infrastructure, efficient absorption of advanced technology, a stable political environment, and commitment to human capital formation are key to development. Demographic transition and decline in fertility at one point reflect growth and engagement in the labor force and resource accumulation. Although East Asia had higher levels of literacy and educational attainment than many developing countries, South Asia still has high fertility. Human resource development is dependent on reduced population growth rates, but rapid population growth is not an insurmountable obstacle to achieving higher levels of education. Rapid population growth is a greater obstacle in poorer countries. The impact can be reflected in increased costs of attaining educational targets of universal primary education or in extension of the time period in which targets can be reached. The likely outcome is that the growth in potential pupils will be slower in poor and isolated areas and education will not be upgraded. Governments may focus on the more politically visible urban poor and under invest in rural education. Female education attainment is particularly important for lowering infant mortality, for quality of child rearing, for labor force participation, and for use of family planning. Migration can change the balance of skilled manpower in rural areas and weaken rural development and social cohesion. Manpower planning must consider that the educated workers are younger; this is not an easy objective as the rate of primary, secondary, and higher education varied among cohorts and labor needs change over time. There can be oversupply of educated workers. Demographic implications for education are but one issue; another issue is the demographic implications for health. Advances in reducing mortality lead to faster population growth. The objective is to balance reductions in mortality with reductions in fertility. It is important to remember that humans are both the object and the instrument of development.