87. The Group urged that countries in the ESCAP r_egion improve their frameworks of development indicators by attempting to design measures which reflected national goals and policies, rather than basing indicators merely on existing data or international frameworks. 88. Developmental strategies had both positive and negative effects, for example, agricultural productivity might be improved but unem- 21 ployment increased by the same programme. Statisticians must attempt to measure both positive and negative trends in order that policy-makers might fully evaluate the impact of development plans. 89. Monitoring of "social" trends should be as timely and of as high a priority as the monitoring of "economic" trends. 90. The Expert Group emphasized that the mere publication of compendia of statistical series was in itself of limited use to planners and policy-makers. For development indicators to be meaningful for planning, analysis and interpretation of the trends and interrelationships of the variables were necessary. Such analysis required the attempt to improve theories of socio-economic development and the models which simulated the theories. V. APPLICATION OF SOCIAL INDICATORS TO PLANNING AND POLICY FORMULATION A. COMMON COUNTRY EXPERIENCE IN THE APPLICATION OF SOCIAL INDICATORS 91. Country experiences in the application of social indicators in planning and policy formulation were discussed by experts from Iran, Malaysia and the Philippines. 92. It was agreed that if comprehensive planning for economic and social development was to be achieved, it necessarily had to take into account social indicators which showed existing levels and trends of the quality of life of the population. Therefore, the Group felt that countries must set targets for the improvement of the quality of life. Furthermore, it was agreed that it was not the economic characteristics of the population but the social, human-centered properties that were truly important and that it was the enhancement of those social, human­
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the importance of social indicators in development planning and policy formulation, particularly in the context of economic development. The language used is technical and focused on the need for accurate measurement and analysis of social trends to inform policy decisions. The text does not mention natural resources, agriculture, industry, transport, communication, international trade, health, education, humanitarian aid, or culture, but it does touch on employment and human-centered properties.

**Category**
Economic development, Employment