Coherence issues drawn from specific country and regional cases can provide the most concrete information on the development implications of OECD-country policies. A first regional case study focused on East Asia, with financial support from the Policy Research Institute of the Japanese Ministry of Finance. The links between the region's developing and transition economies and major OECD countries are strong, not only through the international exchange of goods and services but also through international flows of capital, technology and labour. The East Asian region is, therefore, of particular interest from the standpoint of the development impact of OECD-country policies. A central question involves how different policy vectors transmitted by OECD countries, notably in trade, investment and aid, may or may not have contributed to the region's progress. The intensity of such policy impacts has also depended critically on the capacity of East Asian economies to respond through their own public policies. This Brief sketches out the main story lines of what has happened to East Asia over the past decades, particularly since the mid-1980s, through the lens of OECD countries' "policy coherence for development". It also discusses key policy agendas for the region, draws lessons for other developing regions and identifies major challenges ahead for policy coherence in OECD countries. (A bibliography is included. Contains 19 notes, 2 figures, 1 box and 2 tables.) [Financial support provided by the Government of Japan.]