Podcasts by Asias Developing Future
The world’s number one government-affiliated think tank. ADBI is the think tank of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Further podcasts by Asian Development Bank Institute
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Public procurement could be the ticket to innovative recovery in Asia and the Pacific from 2022-01-31T01:34:21
Public procurement is commonly used by governments in developed countries to promote innovation and socioeconomic policy objectives. However, the strategic use of public procurement as a public pol...
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How Asia can maximize digitalization’s sustainable economic development-boosting potential from 2022-01-17T01:14:28
Digital transformation is raising the productive capacities of economies in Asia by enhancing trade, financial inclusion, and firm competitiveness, but could it provide an even greater competitive ...
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Indonesia Finance Minister talks strategy to reduce inflation and accelerate recovery from 2021-12-21T01:47:50
Economies across Asia and globally are facing the risk of spiraling debt and inflation triggered by emergency responses to the COVID-19 crisis.
In this podcast, Indonesia Finance Minister...
How developing Asia can lift energy subsidies and advance post-COP26 climate change mitigation from 2021-11-29T05:46:42
The COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow sought to rally global efforts to reduce carbon emissions needed to fight climate change and has prompted countries to commit to more ambitious climat...
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Rethinking the future of Asian cities after COVID-19 from 2021-11-12T00:00:41
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the world’s cities. It has also prompted rethinking about the role of cities and the future of urbanization.
In this podcast, urban developmen...
Unlocking new trade routes between Asia and Europe could deliver an inclusive recovery breakthrough from 2021-10-28T00:00:04
Spanning from the People’s Republic of China through Central Asian countries along the Caspian Sea to Europe, the Trans-Caspian Corridor is an increasingly important channel for transportation and ...
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How are COVID-19’s economic impacts in Asia shaping the region’s post-pandemic policy prescriptions? from 2021-10-18T06:51:59
How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted the Asian economy and what can the region’s policy makers do to advance economic recovery?
In this podcast, ADBI Research Fellow John Beirne addresses...
What Central Asia can tell us about bridging infrastructure and firm competitiveness gaps from 2021-09-28T06:29:59
Like other emerging markets in Asia, Central Asia faces a significant need for infrastructure development to support onward growth but a comparable shortfall in project financing and implementation...
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Harmonizing intellectual property regimes could boost innovation in Asia, but how feasible is it? from 2021-09-15T07:11:55
Harmonizing intellectual property regimes could boost innovation in Asia, but how feasible is it?
What steps could Asia take to enhance intellectual property protection and what impact could it...
How to boost the circular economy and potential for a green recovery in Asia from 2021-08-31T04:54:44
COVID-19 recovery in developing Asia could follow a traditional growth path that relies on carbon- and resource-intensive production. By contrast, the transition to a circular economy could deliver...
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India shows how boosting clean water delivery can improve women’s economic participation from 2021-08-13T10:41:17
The burden of water collection and distribution often disproportionately falls on the shoulders of women in Asia’s developing economies, where gaps in water infrastructure and hygiene persist and a...
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New Zealand Commission Board Chair Assesses the Future of Infrastructure Development in Asia from 2021-07-27T05:25:22
Developing Asia will require around $30 trillion in infrastructure investment through 2030, according to the Asian Development Bank. But how has COVID-19 affected the infrastructure landscape and w...
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What do COVID-19 work behavior adaptations in the UK reveal about the future of public transport? from 2021-07-16T07:25:03
With COVID-19 lockdowns, quarantine requirements, and work from home arrangements still prevalent, how will the pandemic impact the future of public transport and what lessons can policy makers in ...
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How one of Asia’s most dirty fuel-reliant areas can transition to clean energy use from 2021-06-17T00:35:01
Central Asia remains highly dependent on polluting solid fuels despite significantly increasing access to cleaner alternatives in the region.
In this podcast, ADBI’s Dina Azhgaliyeva and ...
What does the future hold for post-pandemic labor migration in Asia? from 2021-06-07T07:29:03
Economic and social disruptions accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic have sharply affected labor migration in Asia.
In this podcast, ADBI Capacity Building and Training Economist Pitchaya ...
ADBI’s Dean explains how infrastructure recoupling could deliver a more effective pandemic recovery from 2021-05-27T06:03:41
In this podcast, Asian Development Bank Institute Dean Tetsushi Sonobe explains how global efforts to advance quality infrastructure development could enable a more sustainable and inclusive COVID-...
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A central bank governor talks strategy for harnessing financial digitalization for COVID-19 recovery from 2021-05-19T04:09:32
In this podcast, Benjamin Diokno, Governor of Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas, or BSP, discusses financial digitalization and inclusive COVID-19 recovery strategy with ADBI Dean Tetsushi Sonobe. Governo...
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What Asia can do to maximize the impact of COVID-19’s fintech boost to financial inclusion from 2021-04-28T07:17:36
The increased use of financial technology, or fintech, during the COVID-19 pandemic has provided households in Asia and the Pacific with more efficient and shock-resilient financial services access...
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How latrines can promote girls’ education from 2021-04-20T06:38:21
In this podcast, the University of Chicago’s Anjali Adukia presents her research on the link between school sanitation infrastructure, education growth, and development in India. Adukia describes t...
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How landlocked Central Asia could become a post-pandemic infrastructure financing leader from 2021-03-31T10:03:47
Greater infrastructure development could give remote, landlocked Central Asian economies a critical boost by enhancing pandemic recovery, poverty eradication, and climate change mitigation. However...
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How Asia can boost mask production and reignite its SME growth engine through trade from 2021-03-09T05:32:18
Small and medium-sized enterprises – SMEs – account for most businesses and employment in Asia and the Pacific’s developing economies. Reigniting the region’s SME growth via trade will be key to ad...
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Asia could lay the groundwork for a post-pandemic infrastructure boom through fairer land use from 2021-02-18T00:43:45
Meeting developing Asia and the Pacific’s demand for quality infrastructure that can support inclusive post-pandemic growth will requires the steady but equitable acquisition of land. However, geog...
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Central Asia could be a model for advancing SME trade and inclusive recovery from 2021-02-04T02:05:42
Like in other parts of Asia and the Pacific, small and medium-sized enterprises – SMEs – are the engine of developing Central Asian economies. Igniting the sector’s trade growth potential will be c...
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MSME digitalization could be the ticket to a speedy Asian recovery in 2021 from 2021-01-07T00:38:40
Greater digitalization of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, or MSMEs, could be the ticket to a speedy recovery of coronavirus shaken economies in Asia and the Pacific in 2021.
I...
How to avoid the spiral of climate vulnerability and unsustainable debt from 2020-12-22T02:33:39
As the impacts of climate change on the natural environment increase, so too are associated risks to macroeconomic stability and fiscal sustainability, particularly among climate vulnerable economi...
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Could Asia’s alarming acceleration of garbage accumulation become a sustainability success story? from 2020-12-15T04:05:21
From disposable masks, to plastic partitions, to one-time use food delivery containers, COVID-19 era consumption habits are adding to the build-up of solid waste across Asia and the Pacific—a regio...
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The increasingly perilous act of balancing Asia’s economies as digitalization accelerates from 2020-12-03T07:57:12
Macroeconomic management of the economy as digitalization accelerates during the COVID-19 crisis is a growing challenge for policy makers globally.
In this podcast, ADBI research fellow, J...
The G20’s think tank network is laying the groundwork for evidence-based recovery breakthroughs from 2020-11-13T04:59:56
The Think20, the think tank engagement group of the Group of 20, is hosted by Saudi Arabia in 2020. Under the T20, top experts have developed new evidence-based proposals to help G20 leaders naviga...
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Mastering the art of post-pandemic infrastructure policymaking in politically charged environments from 2020-11-05T05:59:08
In this episode of Asia’s Developing Future, renowned political scientist Francis Fukuyama of Stanford University and ADBI Dean Tetsushi Sonobe discuss the policymaking calculus for advancing infra...
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What Asia can do to strengthen safeguards for its COVID-19 vulnerable aging societies from 2020-10-20T01:26:29
The social and economic challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic pose a particular threat to Asia’s increasing number of elderly people.
In this podcast, ADBI Capacity Building and...
Surveys spotlight pandemic impacts and pathways for recovery in developing Asia from 2020-10-13T04:48:42
ADBI has been conducting extensive, multi-country surveys to gauge the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and related government policies on households, small enterprises, and key sectors such as far...
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How Asia can finally deliver sustainable sanitation for all from 2020-09-28T07:59:31
Substantial progress has been made to address the lack of proper sanitation in developing Asia and the Pacific, though it remains a persistent challenge in many places now grappling with the impact...
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As pandemic bonds hit the market, what can Asia do to ensure its green bond growth potential? from 2020-09-16T05:31:09
As pandemic bonds hit the market, what can Asia do to ensure its green bond growth potential?
The green bond market in Asia and the Pacific has been shaken by the economic impacts of COVID...
Japan’s wastewater lessons in the face of shocks provide timely sanitation solutions for Asia from 2020-08-31T07:13:34
Significant progress has been made to address the lack of proper sanitation in developing Asia and the Pacific, though it remains a persistent and increasingly pronounced challenge in many places n...
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The new and unexpected ways Mobility as a Service systems could affect Asia’s cities from 2020-08-19T01:12:40
COVID-19 is not the only force disrupting transportation systems and mobility. The rise of Mobility as a Service systems such as Uber, Grab, and other smart mobility solutions continue to impact th...
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What more can be done to attract wary investors in Asian infrastructure? from 2020-08-11T07:25:40
Though COVID-19 continues to weigh on mobility and consumption, demand for infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific is expected to remain high over the coming years and exceed increasingly pandemic-s...
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Could AI be the answer to Asia’s mounting education delivery challenges? from 2020-07-31T00:26:37
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to significantly disrupt teaching and learning around the world. In this podcast, former Minister of Education, Science, and Technology of the Republic of Korea, Ju-...
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How can digitalization deliver a pandemic soft landing for Asian economies? from 2020-07-22T03:50:42
Capitalizing on the accelerating digital transformation of economies in the COVID-19 era will be key to crisis recovery, according to Asian Development Bank Institute Dean Tetsushi Sonobe. In this ...
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Addressing new challenges for financial inclusion amid a disruptive double whammy from 2020-07-17T07:20:08
In this podcast, ADBI Vice Chair of Research, Peter Morgan, discusses the challenges of advancing financial inclusion, financial education, and financial literacy in an increasingly digital world a...
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How can smartphone data promote pandemic recovery? from 2020-07-01T02:13:15
Economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis could get an important boost right from the palm of your hand.
In this podcast, Purdue University civil engineering professor and Director of its...
How far will Asia’s investors turn to ESG investment? from 2020-06-23T03:41:42
Investors have been increasingly integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their investment decisions.
In this podcast, ADBI financial economist, Naoko Nemoto, ...
The time is now for Asian green investments and an incentivized private sector from 2020-06-11T06:16:12
The coronavirus has contributed to energy market shocks and a rethinking of opportunities for green investments and renewable energy. In this podcast, ADBI research fellow Dina Azhgaliyeva and Ranj...
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Behavioral insights can support the transition to a post-COVID-19 world from 2020-05-25T04:38:34
The coronavirus has had an acute impact on world trade, global connectivity, and work environments. In this podcast, Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute, discusses the pat...
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Quality infrastructure Asia needs to address COVID-19 and the SDGs from 2020-05-14T05:45:24
In this podcast, Ravi Narayanan, chair of the Governing Council of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum and Water Integrity Network, discusses policy recommendations to promote investment in quality water ...
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Asia’s economic recovery is an opportunity for green policy from 2020-05-05T23:21:23
As the COVID-19 pandemic rattles globalization, commerce, and everyday lives, policy makers are increasingly turning their attention to economic recovery which also provides a critical opportunity ...
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Mitigating the effects of graying populations in an age of uncertainty from 2020-04-21T08:03:35
Protecting the health and safety of vulnerable groups such as the elderly has emerged as an immediate task for policy makers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In this podcast, ADBI Deputy Dean Chul Ju Ki...
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Improving handwashing access is vital to combating COVID-19 from 2020-04-09T09:24:27
The novel coronavirus continues to test health systems and economies worldwide. In this podcast, ADBI’s KE Seetha Ram discusses barriers to a simple life saving action to reduce exposure to COVID-1...
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Book authors dispel doubts about services growth potential in Factory Asia from 2020-04-01T04:08:28
Uncertainty caused by the new coronavirus is disrupting services industries ranging from healthcare, to travel and tourism, to financial markets, adding to concerns about their capacity to boost As...
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How blockchain could revolutionize green finance in Asia from 2020-03-25T00:00
Policy makers and researchers recently met at ADBI for a workshop examining green infrastructure investment, policy challenges, and economic implications in Asia. Marco Schletz from the United Nati...
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How will the novel coronavirus impact the trajectory of Asian high-speed rail? from 2020-03-18T00:00:18
The novel coronavirus is affecting transportation connectivity worldwide. In this podcast, ADBI’s KE Seetha Ram and Shreyas Bharule, co-editors of the new Handbook on High-Speed Rail and Quality of...
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Asia’s think tank outlook in an age of shocks from 2020-02-27T09:09:41
There are 8,248 think tanks globally, according to the latest Global Go To Think Tank Index Report from the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program. In this podcast, As...
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T20 lessons for translating policy ideas into global action from 2020-02-05T04:48:41
Asian Development Bank Institute Dean Naoyuki Yoshino, chair of the Think20, or T20, under Japan’s 2019 G20 presidency, described the G20 engagement group’s policy innovation outlook at the T20 Sau...
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Investors need “green” definitions to choose sustainable finance from 2020-01-23T01:27:56
Cecilia Tam, head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Mobilisation Programme, recently visited ADBI to discuss efforts to promote pri...
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The future of fintech and inclusive finance is now in Asia and the Pacific from 2020-01-17T01:20:39
Chen Long, Secretary-General of Alibaba’s Luo Han Academy, recently spoke at ADBI on the future of financial services access and use in underserved areas of Asia and the Pacific as digital developm...
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Solid waste build-up challenges Asia’s city planners from 2020-01-08T05:52:30
In this podcast, ADBI Senior Consulting Specialist for Capacity Building and Training Projects, KE Seetha Ram explains the growing pressure on municipal governments to address increasingly large am...
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Will the People’s Republic of China remain a green bonds leader? from 2019-12-18T01:37:31
ADBI recently hosted policy makers and researchers for a workshop examining the investment, policy, and economic impacts of green infrastructure and finance development in Asia. The Chinese Univers...
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ADBI book launch of Central Bank Digital Currency and Fintech in Asia from 2019-11-27T01:02:58
ADBI will launch the new book Central Bank Digital Currencies and Fintech in Asia at the 2019 ADBI Annual Conference in Tokyo. In this podcast, ADBI Research Fellow and co-editor, Bihong Huang prov...
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ADBI book launch of Achieving Energy Security in Asia from 2019-11-21T08:24:28
ADBI recently launched the new book “Achieving Energy Security in Asia: Diversification, Integration and Policy Implications” at ADBI in Tokyo. In this podcast, co-editor Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary o...
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Rethinking engineer training is vital to meeting Asian infrastructure demand from 2019-11-06T00:00:02
Demand for infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific is surging and so too is the need to train the next generation of workers to construct and manage new infrastructure projects. In this podcast, Dr ...
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Central banks’ changing views on green finance from 2019-10-23T08:53:15
Ulrich Volz of SOAS University of London recently visited ADBI to discuss his survey findings of 18 Asia Pacific central banks and regulatory authorities on the importance of incorporating climate ...
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Papua New Guinea is the forefront of fintech financial inclusion breakthroughs from 2019-10-08T22:35:27
In this podcast, Bank of Papua New Guinea Governor Loi Bakani discusses how his country is leveraging technology to increase financial services access and use to fight poverty and improve living
Public works, infrastructure spending can offset negative effects of liberalized trade from 2019-10-03T09:23:13
Lowering trade restrictions makes countries richer and in general, that’s good for everyone. But there are winners and losers from trade, especially as economies adjust to freer trade.
Rea...
Services important for developing Asia growth, both past and future from 2019-09-19T08:56:14
The 1990s and 2000s was a golden age for manufacturing in Asia, when economies across the region became important players in the burgeoning supply chains that now dominate global trade. Manufacturi...
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Where are Asia’s migration trends and attitudes headed? from 2019-09-11T00:00:05
Dr Neil Ruiz of the Pew Research Center in Washington, DC discusses new survey findings on what the public in 27 nations thinks about immigration and provides a demographic analysis of migration pa...
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How to thread the economic and political needle on Asian infrastructure growth from 2019-09-04T00:00:06
Asian Development Bank Institute Dean Naoyuki Yoshino and renowned political scientist Francis Fukuyama of Stanford University’s Leadership Academy for Development discuss strategies for meeting de...
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How resilient is Southeast Asia in weathering economic volatility? from 2019-08-29T08:00:07
Asian Development Bank Institute Dean Naoyuki Yoshino met with Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani to discuss the future of trade and economic resiliency in Southeast Asia.
Read the tr...
Republic of Korea needs green finance to meet climate change commitments from 2019-08-21T00:00
Citizens of the Republic of Korea know the country needs to change how it generates energy. They breathe in evidence of that need every day. Ultra-fine dust covers the whole country; more of it tha...
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Spillover taxes could help boost green energy projects in Asia from 2019-08-14T07:06:43
Green energy projects need innovative funding methods if they are to succeed in Asia. One option governments could consider is to plow additional taxes generated by green energy projects back into ...
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Singapore started well but more is needed to become a green finance hub from 2019-08-07T07:46
Singapore wants to be a hub for green finance in Asia. The launch of two successful “green” bonds signaled that intention but serious work is still required to bring the goal closer to reality.
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The effect of services needs to be updated in economic activity data to avoid bad decisions from 2019-07-31T09:08:08
The idea that manufacturing is superior to services for powering a country’s economy has long been taken as a given.
That’s why some economists have issued warnings about developing countr...
Peer-to-peer lending could help small firms find funds, but careful handling is needed from 2019-07-25T03:17:15
Small and medium-sized companies have trouble raising money and that’s a problem, since they account for a large part of the global economy. If there was a way to make it easier for them to get cas...
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Trade in services should be encouraged for sustainable development goals from 2019-07-18T00:00:04
Trade in services, and not just merchandise, needs to be encouraged so that countries can meet the Sustainable Development Goals targeted by the United Nations for 2030.
Trade liberalizati...
Routinization's impact on labor shares in developing vs developed Asia from 2019-07-10T00:00:04
Routinization is the process where technological advances become cheap enough that they can be used to replace the routine tasks done by workers. Listen to how this affects developing vs developed ...
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Japan’s declining labor share attributed to conditions in growing service industries from 2019-07-02T23:59:59
Economists have been trying to figure out why the share of income taken by workers has been declining in many economies. While global growth has continued to make the pie bigger, the share of that ...
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T20 delivers recommendations to Prime Minister Abe, informs G20 Summit from 2019-06-26T00:00:04
On the eve of the G20 summit in Osaka, representatives of the Think20, the G20’s research and policy advisory network, met with Japan Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to discuss T20 policy recommendations...
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T20 Japan ignites a G20 quality infrastructure boom from 2019-06-20T09:03:49
Rapid development is spiking global infrastructure demand and driving policy makers to seek trillions of dollars in funding for projects ranging from roads, ports, and airports to water and sanitat...
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T20 Japan tackles the G20’s demographic dividend reversal from 2019-06-13T00:00:06
A growing number of G20 countries are confronted with rapidly aging societies. This demographic transition poses a serious threat to economic stability, as ADBI Deputy Dean Chul Ju Kim, lead co-cha...
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T20 Japan policy innovations detail keys to digital disruption-ready labor and education from 2019-06-05T00:00:05
Think 20 (T20) is the research and policy advice network for the G20 which in 2019 is chaired by ADBI as part of Japan’s G20 presidency. In this podcast, we look at T20 policy solutions for address...
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PPPs and GIBs can be used to effectively finance low-carbon infrastructure to fight climate change from 2019-05-29T00:00:07
Large-scale funding is needed to transform fossil fuel dominated energy markets into a low-carbon energy sector, and that requires private sector participation, both in terms of investment and inst...
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T20 Japan think tanks boost the impact of the G20 from 2019-05-22T00:00:07
The Think20 (T20), the G20’s research and policy advice network, will hold its annual summit in Tokyo on 26-27 May 2019 to detail groundbreaking policy innovations for consideration by G20 Leaders ...
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Bangladesh needs to act to boost renewable energy as climate change effects loom from 2019-05-13T03:30:38
Fast-growing Bangladesh is getting richer but environmental issues are being left behind. It may be time to take a step back and look at what could and should be done to avert a potential catastrop...
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Malaysia labor income share rises, inequality falls, but it isn’t a good sign from 2019-05-01T00:00:09
The share of national income earned by workers has been falling in most countries, and inequality has been rising as a result. The opposite is true in Malaysia. But what seems to be good news there...
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Evidence increasing of link between globalization and declining labor income share from 2019-04-25T00:01:18
The global trend to more open trade and migration has benefited the global economy, but the share of income taken by labor has been declining at the same time.
As protectionism and anti-m...
Viet Nam needs major changes to meet its renewable energy goals from 2019-04-19T02:25:53
Viet Nam has made ambitious commitments to combat climate change under the Paris Agreement, but only by making massive changes will it be able to live up to those plans.
Viet Nam’s carbon ...
Internal migration rules decrease trade benefits, increase disparity in the PRC from 2019-04-10T00:00:02
Limits to internal migration increase disparity and keep the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from reaping the full benefit of its trade and industry success.
The PRC’s internal registrat...
Manufacturing in developing countries benefits from quality service firms from 2019-04-03T00:00:02
Services firms can help manufacturing grow in developing countries. But the quality and technological competence of those companies is what matters most when it comes to positive spillover effects....
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More work is needed to help local renewable power projects succeed from 2019-03-28T01:36:32
Liberalizing energy markets so that locally generated renewable energy projects have a chance to compete with big utilities is only the first step in getting those projects off the ground.
A new consumption tax could fund development of necessary low-carbon energy system from 2019-03-20T07:11:30
A general tax on consumption that would fund the development of a low-carbon energy system is the only way greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced in time to benefit future generations. The soluti...
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Governments should consider local conditions in bank regulations to aid the poor from 2019-03-13T00:00:08
Research has shown that better access to banking can help lift people out of poverty. A recent study in Bangladesh confirms that link. But it also suggests that policy makers should consider the la...
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FinTech advances can help farmers in Asia and the institutions that serve them from 2019-03-06T00:00:08
Advances in financial technology can help farmers in Asia raise money to improve their operations and deal with the risks that come from uncertain weather and other factors outside their control.
Indian cities can partner with foreign peers to get ahead from 2019-02-27T00:00:06
Indian cities should establish teams to tap the expertise contained within their global counterparts.
Rather than starting from scratch, they can jump ahead by connecting with counterpa...
Thailand needs better tax regulations, enforcement to fight “shadow” economy from 2019-02-20T09:41:13
Thailand has been using tax policies to promote growth and encourage foreign investment. Some of those measures have succeeded but more attention needs to be paid to the revenue-raising side of the...
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People’s Republic of China needs to step up property and income tax reforms from 2019-02-13T00:07:29
Increasing the use of property and income taxes in the People’s Republic of China won’t be popular, but it is necessary. Relying more on property and income tax will not only help the China governm...
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Postal savings banks should be tapped to strengthen financial systems in emerging Asia from 2019-02-13T00:07:28
Postal savings banks should be developed as a key factor of the economies in emerging Asia. Building or rebuilding postal savings banks would help modernize and deepen financial systems that are st...
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Bank of Japan stock buying will be hard to unravel from 2019-02-06T09:56:48
The Bank of Japan’s ongoing purchases of Japanese stocks has warped the country’s equity markets. Every day it continues will make the eventual unwinding of those holdings harder, both for the cent...
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Foreign remittances should be a key part of expanding services at postal savings banks from 2019-01-29T23:34:40
Postal savings banks can expand their financial services and bring them to more people, by using foreign remittances as a springboard.
With $250 billion in remittances flowing into Asia e...
A simplified tax system could draw more small businesses to pay tax from 2019-01-23T00:14:31
Regulations need to be stronger, and their implementation needs to be simpler, to bring more small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into Indonesia’s tax system.
SMEs are an important a...
Postal savings banks have served women better but could do more from 2019-01-23T00:14:23
Postal savings banks have a better record than other financial institutions when it comes to giving women access to financial services. But even more could be done if countries expanded the use of ...
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Overweight and obesity threaten economic development in Asia and the Pacific from 2019-01-16T09:44:57
Growing populations of the overweight and obese are putting a multi-billion-dollar strain on health costs in developing countries and stifling economic growth.
A new book by the Asian Dev...
Tajikistan’s vital remittance income hurt by Russian Federation economic downturn from 2019-01-16T09:44:51
Falling international energy prices, which are causing an economic crisis in the Russian Federation and some other countries in the region, are having major spillover effects on Central Asia. In th...
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Asian think tanks face challenges even as they multiply from 2019-01-09T08:34:32
The number of think tanks in Asia has grown over the last decade and many have become prominent.
The 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report records 1,676 think tanks in Asia as of Decem...
India creates a tool to manage water resources amid crisis from 2019-01-09T08:34:25
Information is power, and that is true as India tries to solve its water crisis. In June 2018, the Government of India acknowledged that it is in the midst of the worst water crisis in the country’...
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The four Rs to look for in think tanks from 2019-01-04T03:53:40
With think tanks around the world now numbering 8,000 and counting, how do you pick the best among them? James McGann, senior lecturer of international studies at the Lauder Institute and director ...
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ASEAN needs to do more to maintain its emergency rice reserves and use them efficiently from 2019-01-04T03:53:34
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has a long-standing agreement to build and maintain rice reserves to deal with natural disasters and growing food insecurity among its 10 members. The ric...
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The “kicker” bond could help kick-start infrastructure projects from 2018-12-27T01:36:30
How can private investors be persuaded to invest in public infrastructure – like new highways, railways, and dams?
Many governments don’t want to incur further debt. And most politicians...
In richer economies, the poor are more at risk of becoming obese than the more affluent from 2018-12-27T01:36:26
Economic development can have significant health costs for growing numbers of overweight and obese people, as the example of Indonesia illustrates. This is what a new book by the Asian Development ...
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Digital technology is essential to better financial services for small businesses from 2018-12-20T23:39:16
Digital technology is essential to better financial services for small businesses
Better financial services are needed by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), such as secur...
Obesity “time bomb” ticks away in developing economies from 2018-12-20T23:39:09
Developing countries need to urgently deal with an obesity “time bomb” ticking away in their economies, and which is already dragging down growth and driving up health costs.
The World Hea...
Asia has a lot more catching up to do in green investments from 2018-12-12T00:01
Asia may have made headway in channeling investments into green projects, but it needs $26.2 trillion between 2016 and 2030 or $1.7 trillion annually to finance sustainable and climate-resilient in...
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Central banks in developing Asia are prepared for uncertain times from 2018-12-12T00:00:10
Lessons learned during the Asian financial crisis leave central banks in developing Asia well-prepared for potentially volatile times as the world emerges from a period of ultra-low interest rates....
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Land trusts are the best way to acquire private land for infrastructure from 2018-12-05T00:01:04
Land trusts are the best way for governments in Asia to acquire private land for infrastructure projects. They also increase the likelihood that private companies will help build the roads, bridges...
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In the People’s Republic of China, girls now have more schooling than boys from 2018-12-05T00:00:04
Girls now have more schooling on average than boys in the People’s Republic of China, reversing the age-old tradition of sons being better educated than daughters.
One driver of change is ...
More action is needed to achieve fair taxation in the digital economy from 2018-11-28T00:01:04
Innovative financial services and improved ways of doing business have emerged on the back of the rapidly growing digital economy, a field that has been growing exponentially over the past 10 years...
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Denying credit to small and medium-sized enterprises may threaten an economy’s growth from 2018-11-28T00:00:04
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) comprise 99% of nonfinancial businesses in the euro area and employ 67% of the total labor force. In Asia, they account for almost 98% of all businesses an...
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The New Silk Road and its network of projects could be a “win-win” for all from 2018-11-21T00:01:04
Linking the People's Republic of China with Asia, Africa, and Europe by land and sea can be a win-win for China and its partner countries, if the trillions of dollars China plans to invest in infra...
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Financial inclusion needs to be part of the government’s strategy in the Kyrgyz Republic from 2018-11-21T00:00:04
More than 60% of adults in the Kyrgyz Republic do not have access to financial products and services, and many still prefer to keep their money under a mattress. While a quarter of the adult popula...
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Different laws reflect a country’s unique culture and can hinder or stimulate innovation from 2018-11-14T00:00:49
Laws in developing countries generally reflect their unique cultures, which may restrict innovation and risk-taking, throwing obstacles in the path to development.
Strong legal mechanisms,...
Social networks facilitate informal finance in the People's Republic of China from 2018-11-13T23:59:08
In Chinese culture, as in most other cultures, whom you know is often more important than what you know, and social networks of relatives, friends, or local links are recognized as important to cul...
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Successful urbanization could free developing countries from the middle-income trap from 2018-11-07T00:01:08
Scores of countries have fallen and are falling into the middle-income trap as they strive to develop. And, because of income inequality, aging populations, and a lack of growth impetus, some may n...
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Stronger credit data systems boost services from 2018-11-07T00:00:08
Timely and accurate credit information is critical to a well-functioning financial industry and essential for any government to maintain financial stability.
About a third of credit burea...
Increased monitoring is essential for Asian countries’ smooth economic integration from 2018-10-31T00:01:03
Asia is becoming more integrated than ever before and so requires increased monitoring. While integration has increased overall, the movement of goods, services, and people across borders has grown...
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Pacific island countries need to clear many hurdles to get into export markets from 2018-10-31T00:00:33
As the economies of these countries have diversified, their exports have increased to almost three times what they were 2 decades ago. But the gains have been intermittent—and countries need to do ...
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Freer trade can raise living standards and bring down the prices of goods and services from 2018-10-24T00:01:03
The gap between the rich and the poor in Viet Nam has narrowed, thanks to increased imports from the People’s Republic of China. Data collected from 2002 to 2014 show that lower-income groups benef...
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Small-scale solar systems would be better for developing countries from 2018-10-24T00:00:03
Developing countries in Asia can leapfrog old fossil-fuel energy systems and promote the use of environment-friendly solar-power systems as their growing economies need more and more energy.
<...
Blockchain technology could raise investments for green-energy projects from 2018-10-17T00:00:09
Blockchain technology may be used to finance local renewable-energy projects. The technology, which basically acts as an electronic ledger, allows transactions to be carried out between parties wit...
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To change the world, tell a good story, says World Toilet Organization founder from 2018-10-10T23:52:09
If you have a good story, you can change the world. If your story makes people laugh, you have an even better chance at success.
That’s the message of Jack Sim, who decided after a thrivin...
Asia and the Pacific need to do more to spur financial inclusion from 2018-10-10T23:52
Asia and the Pacific need to ensure not only that more people have access to financial products and services but also that the poor can wield them to build wealth.
While the Asia-Pacific E...
The Republic of Korea should help women enter and stay in the workforce from 2018-10-03T00:01:08
The Republic of Korea could improve its citizens’ overall well-being by tackling inequality in the workforce that has left women falling behind their male counterparts.
A report by the Org...
Malaysia needs to take a long, hard look at state-linked firms from 2018-10-03T00:00:09
To be or not to be?
That is the question confronting Malaysia’s state-linked companies. Should the government sell its stake in them as they are embroiled in controversy after controversy?...
High-speed rail in the People’s Republic of China boosts market access and income from 2018-09-26T00:01:14
The fast growth of a high-speed rail network in the People’s Republic of China has widened market access and boosted incomes. Expanding access to high-speed rail even further would help solve some ...
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Regulatory reform, willingness to fail needed for Republic of Korea small businesses from 2018-09-26T00:00:09
Small and medium-sized businesses in the Republic of Korea lag well behind their bigger counterparts in productivity, and the gap is getting wider.
A recent report by the Organisation for...
Better financial literacy and inclusion would strengthen Azerbaijan’s financial sector from 2018-09-19T06:15:15
The drop from peak oil prices is testing Azerbaijan’s economy and its people’s ability to adjust to a more modern financial system.
For the decade from 2006 to 2016, few economies were as ...
Improve competition, laws, and regulation to lessen role of chaebol in Republic of Korea from 2018-09-19T06:15:05
Big family business groups known as chaebol still dominate in the Republic of Korea, stifling the growth of other businesses and causing investors to look twice before putting money in the country....
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Can we make money from waste? from 2018-09-12T00:05:06
By 2050, half the world’s population will live in Asia and the Pacific. Each year, Asian cities’ total population increases by as many as 44 million people. In their wake are millions of tons of so...
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Republic of Korea should consider the impact of the minimum wage before hiking it again from 2018-09-12T00:00:06
The Republic of Korea should hold off on increasing the minimum wage for a year or so while it considers the effect of past hikes.
That’s the recommendation of the Organisation for Economi...
Global outsourcing comes with environmental costs from 2018-09-05T00:00:06
Outsourcing may mean bigger profits for companies seeking cheaper ways to produce goods and services, but it’s not all good news for the host countries.
For the countries in the South that...
High-speed railway projects need careful study to ensure success from 2018-09-05T00:00:06
Fifty years after Japan launched its high-speed railway line, there’s no denying it’s been a game-changer. Run by Japan National Railways, the shinkansen cuts travel time between historical economi...
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Will financial liberalization trigger an economic crisis in China? from 2018-08-29T03:34:09
Financial liberalization is typically associated with bringing benefits to emerging economies—cutting red tape, boosting growth, expanding trade, and creating jobs and opportunity. Is it just what ...
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Innovative firms in the People’s Republic of China are redefining manufacturing from 2018-08-29T03:34:01
Since at least the beginning of the 1990s, economists have noted that innovation is indispensable to competitive advantage. But what about for manufacturing? Conventional wisdom has long been hosti...
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Harnessing innovation is the path to growth in developing countries from 2018-08-22T00:00:08
For ambitious economies that have recently overcome historical economic obstacles and become stable and vibrant engines of growth, the question now is how to make growth sustainable and inclusive. ...
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Five global megatrends are forcing electric utilities to rethink the way they do business from 2018-08-22T00:00:08
Electric utilities around the world are expected to be greatly transformed by deregulation, climate change, the rise of renewable energy, new technologies, declining populations, and changing user ...
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Asia needs better financial monitoring and safeguards as integration increases from 2018-08-15T00:01:04
Asian economies and financial systems are becoming ever more integrated, but their monitoring has not kept pace and better safeguards are needed. This is especially true for cross-border issues.
Solar energy use is growing fast as production costs plunge from 2018-08-15T00:00:04
Solar energy is growing fast as total capacity worldwide surges with the decline of solar-panel prices. It’s cheap and it works.
How to further reduce the price of solar panels has become ...
Democratic People's Republic of Korea could become a market economy in 20 to 25 years from 2018-08-08T00:00:04
The People’s Republic of China’s integration into the global economy and East and West Germany’s reunification show the Democratic People's Republic of Korea — or the DPRK — how it might become a m...
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So far, so good, for emerging Asia but financial, monetary challenges remain from 2018-08-08T00:00:04
Asian emerging market economies adopted a range of measures after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s to shelter themselves from economic and financial contagion. So far, those moves have ...
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Economic models show China yuan shift, Malaysia–Singapore reactions, were best options from 2018-08-02T00:00:04
The People’s Republic of China’s gradual shift from a currency policy pegged to the US dollar to one that tracks the movements of a range of currencies was the correct choice given the challenges, ...
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Steel trade war threatens to bring back “dark ages” in world commerce from 2018-08-02T00:00:04
A brewing trade war over steel is threatening to bring the world back to the economic “dark ages” when countries used trade curbs to retaliate politically against rival governments.
The Wo...
Trade opening transformed Indian industries from 2018-07-25T00:00:04
When India started opening its markets to international trade in the 1990s, what impact did it have on manufacturing and labor’s share of income? The answer lies in an analysis of plant-level data,...
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Using diversified energy in agriculture can protect food security from 2018-07-25T00:00:04
Energy price shocks—negative and positive—can have a powerful economic knock-on effect, especially on food prices where food is scarce. Even though great strides have been made since 1945 in feedin...
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Global and Asian financial oversight needs updating before the next crisis hits from 2018-07-18T01:30:30
Recent financial crises have highlighted the need to update the global institutions for financial and economic oversight that were founded more than 70 years ago, and their Asian counterparts that ...
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Crisis to opportunity—Asia and the Pacific are more integrated since 2008 from 2018-07-18T01:30:28
Asia and the Pacific have deepened economic integration through trade and foreign direct investment since the early 1990s. But financial market integration within the region has not progressed as q...
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Lessons from the Asian contagion helped the IMF tackle global financial crisis from 2018-07-11T00:00:04
The International Monetary Fund learned a thing or two from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which helped it respond better to the 2008 global financial crisis.
Thanks to IMF assistance, t...
Australia, New Zealand have “green” policies but neither has reached its renewable-energy potential from 2018-07-11T00:00:04
Strong and consistent incentives and greater policy stability and coordination between levels of government are needed to engender green energy financing in New Zealand and Australia, according to ...
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China may be about to repeat the financial mistakes of Japan in the 1980s from 2018-07-04T00:00:04
China’s financial system is developing rapidly, swelling the country’s bank assets to become the largest in the world, and there are worrying similarities with the global dominance of Japan’s banks...
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Tighter immigration rules threaten India’s IT talent exports from 2018-07-04T00:00:04
One of India’s major exports can readily be seen in computer science faculties, at information technology events, or among programmers and developers in most parts of the world—the IT professional....
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Good credit markets and banking can drive innovation in developing economies from 2018-06-27T00:00:04
Developing economies often lack sophisticated equity markets, meaning that firms that are focused on innovation must rely on bank lending. But tight bank policies can undermine the culture of innov...
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Financial regulators hold the key to climate change from 2018-06-27T00:00:04
Central banks and regulators should be on the frontline of fighting the carbon emissions driving climate change, and a more proactive approach can address the visible side effects in Asia, such as ...
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Better indicators are needed to track the well-being of elderly in developing countries from 2018-06-20T00:00:04
With aging becoming a pressing issue in many countries, especially in Asia, governments need better indicators that track the well-being of the elderly to craft policies to better meet the needs of...
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Intangible capital of technology and know-how matters more for profit than production from 2018-06-20T00:00:04
Businesses around the world need to pay closer attention to technology, design, branding, and other forms of intangible assets, if they want an edge over their competitors in keeping customers inte...
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Financial technology will help lower remittance costs for Asia from 2018-06-13T00:00:04
Fintech or, more fully, financial technology, is the buzz word in the startup world. But while the winners in this revolution are entrepreneurs and investors, there are clear benefits for the devel...
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World oil prices have multiple effects on an energy-exporting economy from 2018-06-13T00:00:04
World oil price volatility affects the economies of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as their non-OPEC counterparts, but little attention is paid to non-OPEC economies, whi...
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Revamped Pacific trade pact is an important step forward for development from 2018-06-06T00:00:02
Headlines about the rebirth of a trans-Pacific trade pact in Santiago, Chile in March have concentrated on the absence of the United States from the 11-nation agreement, or the trade gains expected...
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Migrant workers add huge value to the countries where they work from 2018-06-06T00:00:02
As parts of the developed world tighten foreign worker laws and maintain a hostile rhetoric against “immigrants” and “refugees,” a new report shows Asian migrant workers add economic value to their...
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Attempts to slow the People’s Republic of China’s housing construction expose other problems from 2018-05-30T00:00:02
Ghost cities full of empty apartment blocks are evidence of the central government’s failure to slow booming house construction in the People’s Republic of China.
Conflicting incentives fo...
China’s trade and investment slowdown could hamper developing Asia from 2018-05-23T00:00:02
A growth slowdown in the People’s Republic of China causing a decline in trade would be felt across Asia, with commodity exporters and trade partners closest to the country hit hardest.
Al...
China can sustain long-term growth, with a few changes at home from 2018-05-16T00:00:02
Domestic structural change is necessary if the People's Republic of China is to sustain economic growth of as high as 8% a year over the next 10 years.
Research published in an Asian Devel...
Asia should promote domestic demand and lessen its reliance on electronic exports from 2018-05-09T00:26:05
The bulk of Asia’s exports runs through, rather than to, the People’s Republic of China, leaving the region more exposed to downturns and anti-trade sentiments in developed countries than to a dome...
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China’s declining growth is structural, not a cyclical downturn from 2018-05-09T00:25:56
The nature of the People’s Republic of China’s growth slowdown is a key question for the global economy.
If it’s a bump in the road, growth in China should soon return to a high rate that...
China is facing many of the problems Japan encountered as it strives for growth from 2018-04-27T00:11:16
The People’s Republic of China needs to refocus its economy to avoid slipping into an economic downturn that could be worse than the one Japan has suffered for more than the past 2 decades. Compari...
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Indonesia rice subsidy program improves children’s health from 2018-04-19T23:10:02
Hundreds of thousands of children in Indonesia are growing taller and heavier thanks to the government’s rice subsidy program, which ensures better nutrition despite flaws in the scheme.
T...
Green bonds offer a sustainable alternative for Asian development funding from 2018-04-11T23:07:24
Green bonds, which first appeared in 2007, finance projects that deliver environmental or climate benefits such as climate change mitigation and adaptation investments.
The global green b...
Japanese investors are looking overseas for returns, but avoiding developing Asia from 2018-04-05T00:10:34
Negative interest rates in Japan are leading banks, pension funds, and other investors to look overseas for better returns, but they are mostly ignoring developing Asia, and with rates rising in th...
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Low rates are hurting developing countries, says Bank of Thailand head from 2018-03-28T08:45:39
Ultra-low or negative interest rates in Japan, the United States, and Europe placed a difficult burden on other central banks and may threaten their independence in the future.
Veerathai S...
Central banks are losing power to influence markets as interest rates hit zero from 2018-03-28T08:45:26
Central banks are running out of wiggle room, having lowered interest rates, in some cases to zero or negative, and are losing influence over markets becoming accustomed to a low-rate regime.
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The global agenda is evolving, and big players need to change the rules from 2018-03-23T02:24:43
Global governance has undergone significant change since the late 1990s, with the number of global players in health, trade, and development finance rapidly increasing, mobilizing more funds for he...
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Commodity price shocks hurt credit growth in developing countries from 2018-03-23T02:23:40
Big swings in global commodity prices unnerve governments in developing countries reliant on such export revenue, and curb credit growth as banks tighten lending during price volatility.
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Can trade avert a water crisis? Part 2 from 2018-03-14T23:08:37
Water may be saved through trade provided it moves from countries that use water wisely to those lacking water, as a coming water crisis—driven by climate change, neglect of infrastructure, and mis...
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Investors want flexibility in the law and its cultural drivers, which leads to innovation from 2018-03-14T23:08:15
Laws in developing countries generally reflect their unique cultures, which may restrict innovation and risk-taking, throwing obstacles in the path to development. Strong legal mechanisms, includin...
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China’s “shadow banking” after the 2007 global crisis yields unexpected results from 2018-03-07T10:50:40
China’s 2009 economic stimulus program after the global financial crisis led to the growth of shadow banking as local governments scrambled to pay off their obligations under the program.
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Can trade avert a water crisis? Part 1 from 2018-03-07T10:49:42
A coming water crisis, driven by climate change, neglect of infrastructure, and misguided policies, is threatening global economic growth in countries struggling to develop, and in developed countr...
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Developing countries need to fix domestic problems to best benefit from globalization from 2018-03-01T00:03:49
Developing countries can benefit from globalization if they fix potential problems at home before opening their economies. Failing to do so can multiply local problems as money streams across borde...
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Who would have thought that punctuation could influence borrowing and lending? from 2018-03-01T00:01:44
Peer-to-peer or P2P lending is a way of financing debt online so that people can borrow and lend money without going through a financial institution, like a bank. P2P, also known as social lending ...
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Urbanization in India, lessons from Korea, food insecurity, US trade imbalance, inequality in China from 2018-02-22T09:14:45
Analysts and economists explain:
How India’s government pushes for more urbanization by creating towns that will grow along with information technology.
Read the transcript: http://bi...
Better sanitation systems lead to economic growth from 2018-02-15T04:47:25
Providing total and improved sanitation services is a challenge across Asia, as population growth—up 5.7% on average in the past two decades—overwhelms existing infrastructure and outpaces planning...
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SMEs in Asia need easier access to credit from 2018-02-12T00:02:41
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of Asia’s economies.
The Asian Development Bank’s most recent SME survey covered 20 countries in Central, East, South, Southeast Asia, a...
Community sanitation can be cheaply improved with money-making technology from 2018-02-02T02:23:17
Basic household sanitation has long been outside the reach of cost-effective comprehensive solutions, especially in communities dependent on septic rather than sewage systems. But this is changing....
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Burgeoning migrant labor is changing economic structures worldwide from 2018-01-25T08:58:47
Recent demographic and societal changes in both developing and developed countries have affected the employment of migrant workers in economies worldwide, and few sectors illustrate the internation...
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Women business owners surf the Internet to access credit from 2018-01-25T08:58:36
Women who own small businesses are increasingly turning to digital platforms to source capital for growth as they battle discrimination from formal channels.
Small and medium-sized enterpr...
Emerging economies can learn a lot from how Korea faced down financial crises from 2018-01-18T01:24:29
Emerging economies can learn a lot from how the Republic of Korea faced down the financial crises of 1997 and 2008, and emerged from hard economic slowdown stronger than ever.
Painful mac...
Inequality will worsen as people in the PRC get older from 2018-01-18T01:24:12
An already widening gap between rich and poor in the People’s Republic of China is likely to worsen due to its rapidly aging population.
Increasing life expectancy and the effect of a deca...
Corruption is starving the poor in developing economies from 2018-01-11T01:18:26
Robust institutions and low levels of corruption are more important to reducing hunger than population size or the state of a country’s natural resources.
Food security—the ability of a co...
Will India and China have enough to eat? from 2018-01-11T01:16
India and the People’s Republic of China must act quickly if they are to have enough to eat over the coming decades.
For the PRC, the biggest challenges come before 2030, when its populati...
Economic growth can be measured by counting tax revenue from 2017-12-14T00:45:59
It can be hard to measure the effects of infrastructure investment on an economy. Knowing whether an investment worked means somehow identifying the revenue it generated amidst the noise of an econ...
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Trade imbalance data is better than it looks from 2017-12-14T00:45:53
Trade deficits are considered bad news for economies, and for an economy the size of the United States, a deficit of $745 billion in 2015, the largest seen in decades, would be cause for alarm.
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Asia trade needs to get ready for the impact of Brexit and the US undoing of NAFTA from 2017-12-06T00:43:05
Brexit and a potential US withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement could have large ripple effects on trade in Asia, helping some countries and hurting others, according to prominent...
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A simple change in transport infrastructure thinking can have wide social effects from 2017-12-06T00:42:12
Improved transportation links help communities prosper financially, but there’s an unexpected social dividend that can compound that prosperity—lower rates of smoking and drinking and higher levels...
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India’s cities are encouraging manufacturing to promote growth from 2017-12-01T00:55:23
Urban areas contribute nearly two-thirds of India’s gross domestic product, even though they account for only 31 percent of the country’s population. They are India’s growth engines.
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The world is facing a new nexus between urbanization, development, environment, and inequality from 2017-12-01T00:55:16
Urbanization is associated with economic growth, but it’s a fine balance before rural poverty simply shifts to the cities and the cities become too big to sustain development, sucking growth out of...
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Governments should prepare for migration surges by providing housing, schools, roads, transport from 2017-11-22T09:50:33
Urbanization has accelerated in the past few decades as thousands daily move to towns and cities in search of a better life, or better education opportunities for their children. Economic developme...
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Developing Asia urgently needs to examine who should pay for the elderly from 2017-11-22T09:50:18
Developing Asian countries must introduce more comprehensive public welfare programs for the elderly as their economies transition from traditional filial altruism and the extended family to parent...
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Rapid economic growth breeds inequality in Indonesia from 2017-11-16T09:25:24
Indonesia’s economy grew rapidly over the past 30 years, in large part due to sweeping political and institutional reforms, the right mix of economic policy packages, and the development of fairer ...
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Asia shows unconventional monetary policy works in crisis from 2017-11-16T09:25:19
Hit by the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis, economies in Southeast Asia adopted unconventional monetary policy measures to ride out the financial storm, and were the stronger for it, teaching a fe...
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PRC slowdown offers a chance to readjust trade priorities from 2017-11-08T09:41:33
Around the world, researchers and analysts are closely watching the economic performance of the People’s Republic of China in the wake of its recent slowing growth and the possible impact of that d...
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Developing countries have chance to start green energy development from 2017-11-08T09:41:26
Developing countries are relatively well positioned as they expand their energy capacity, with a banquet of climate-clean, sustainable, and renewable sources to choose from, while developed countri...
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Emerging Asia’s integration has pluses and minuses from 2017-11-08T09:41:21
Since the early 20th century, emerging Asia has been subjected to the ebb and flow of lending from advanced economies. Since then the region has become more integrated into the global financial mar...
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India’s elderly poor are being left behind from 2017-10-24T05:26:46
Poverty among the elderly in developing countries such as India is on the rise as the traditional extended family unit dissolves, fertility rates decline, migration to urban jobs rises, and governm...
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Ways to jumpstart global productivity from 2017-10-24T05:26:40
It’s been nearly a decade since the 2008 global financial crisis, and world economic growth rates are almost back where they were after a long, painful but instructive haul, and both developed and ...
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In Asia, aging parents get more help from daughters than sons from 2017-10-24T05:26:34
Parents in developing Asia tend to spend more on sons but receive higher returns from daughters, turning on its head an age-old belief that sons—not daughters—take care of their aging parents.
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Trade creates jobs in Viet Nam but technology might be harming low-skilled workers from 2017-10-17T09:11:23
Low-skilled workers in Viet Nam are hardest hit by market reforms and technology, with efficiency coming at the cost of jobs. Exposure to foreign markets and access to digital technologies raise de...
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Housing lessons from Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore from 2017-10-17T09:11:18
Asia and the Pacific are home to 4.3 billion people, and half the world’s urban population, with 120,000 people moving to cities every day, creating daily demand for 20,000 affordable homes.
Peer-to-peer lending opens capital access to start ups, but at a risk—David Storey, ADBI analyst from 2017-10-17T09:11:09
Peer-to-peer lending is an emerging form of finance enabled by the Internet, matching investors with borrowers to get around rigid bank requirements faced by small and medium-sized enterprises—SMEs...
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How demographics affected the fortunes of Japan’s private railways—ADBI Dean from 2017-10-10T07:15:21
The idea of sharing future tax revenues with private investors is being promoted by the Asian Development Bank Institute—the ADBI—in Tokyo to help finance the region’s huge demand for infrastructur...
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Remittances reduce poverty in Asia from 2017-10-10T07:15:18
Remittances to developing countries in Asia help improve their economies with the net gains from exporting labor, and improve the lives of the poor people forced to work overseas—often for decades—...
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Economic corridors are looking good for Greater Mekong from 2017-10-10T07:15:12
Economic corridors forming around the Greater Mekong Subregion have opened the way to greater development as better infrastructure leads to improved roads and bridges between neighbors.
Th...
Ha Noi can offer more attractive terms to private investors in a new ring road—ADBI Dean from 2017-10-02T09:16:42
Ha Noi, the Vietnamese capital, is renowned for its congested traffic. The government wants to build a third ring road around the city.
But it doesn’t have enough money for such a major pr...
Beyond speaking truth to power—Adam Posen, head, Peterson Institute for International Economics from 2017-10-02T09:16:36
Think tanks try to influence the powerful—people who hold government office and make decisions—by independently speaking the truth and not being afraid to do so.
Adam Posen, president of t...
Japan's banks are transmitting lower interest rates to Asia—Robert McCauley, BIS from 2017-10-02T09:16:32
Japanese banks, insurance companies, and pension funds are investing in the US and other financial markets, due to the low or even negative interest rates at home. But their demand is pushing up th...
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The People’s Republic of China is exporting industrial capacity and financial risk from 2017-09-25T04:05:22
As the People’s Republic of China — the PRC — develops its “Go Global” suite of policies, it has expanded international capacity cooperation as a way to adjust to the “new normal” of low industrial...
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Obesity and overweight cost about US$166 billion in Asia and the Pacific from 2017-09-25T04:04:45
Obesity and overweight are among the main risk factors of noncommunicable diseases that kill millions of people worldwide. How much do these diseases cost health systems and economies?
In ...
Some positive lessons from the Asian financial crisis—Hyun-Song Shin, BIS from 2017-09-25T04:04:12
Developing country economies are proving to be a competitive market for investment in local bonds because they offer relatively high yields and long maturities, which limit the risk of fluctuations...
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ASEAN is banking on “clean” coal in the absence of an alternative from 2017-09-17T22:43:16
Coal as an energy source in power plants will continue to increase in ASEAN and East Asia in the coming decades in the absence of a viable energy alternative, stoking fears of an upsurge in carbon ...
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Northeast India can get private firms to fund roads with the promise of spillover effects—ADBI Dean from 2017-09-17T22:43:08
Spillovers are the additional economic activities created by new infrastructure. A new highway will often attract new businesses and create jobs. As a result, governments will receive more revenue ...
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Pension crisis looms in emerging Asia from 2017-09-17T22:43
Many emerging Asian economies will likely face a pension fund crisis by 2030 if they fail to set aside sufficient money in a gradually aging region to care for their elderly.
The fiscal bu...
Cambodian banks are looking at a deposit-insurance system from 2017-09-12T00:42:01
It’s been almost 2 decades since the central bank moved to clean up the country’s private banks. Back then, Cambodia didn’t have a single ATM.
Today, branches with ATMs are common in prov...
US exit from TPP paves way for PRC influence—G. Nataraj, Institute of Public Administration, India from 2017-09-12T00:41:57
“The US exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has paved the way for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to dominate and have a greater influence in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Geethanja...
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Can trade create jobs globally? from 2017-09-12T00:41:52
Win-Win—How International Trade Can Help Meet the Sustainable Development Goals was recently published by ADBI and edited by ADBI senior economist Matthias Helble and Ben Shepherd, principal at Dev...
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How does exchange rate volatility influence exports? from 2017-09-04T01:12:38
The debate about the influence of exchange rates volatility on trade is intensifying, as US President Donald Trump attempts to blame the People’s Republic of China’s exchange rate policy for the US...
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The sharp rise in overweight and obesity in Asia and the Pacific threatens their prosperity from 2017-09-04T01:12:30
Obesity has reached world-wide epidemic proportions. Overweight and obesity weaken the body, hamper lower-body mobility, and impede daily activities. In older people, they cause physical dysfunctio...
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“Everyone is born an entrepreneur.” M. Yunus, Grameen Bank, Nobel laureate from 2017-09-04T01:12:25
Muhammad Yunus believes the world must look again at what banks should be—and what they should do. The Bangladeshi Nobel laureate and founder of Grameen Bank also wants to upend our thinking about ...
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Think tanks should look beyond economics to cultural and societal values. Guntram Wolff, Bruegel from 2017-08-25T05:48:43
With the United States walking away this year from multilateral deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris Agreement on climate change, is globalization doomed? Guntram Wolff, the direc...
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Information and communication technology empowers women from 2017-08-25T05:48:31
Women in emerging Asian economies will be big winners in e-commerce and online trade, which will help them overcome geographic isolation and limited access to information and financing. But obstacl...
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Lack of infrastructure, rules hamper developing Asia’s digital trade from 2017-08-25T05:48:22
A fast-growing digital economy is opening new opportunities for small and large businesses, but developing Asia is hampered by a lack of infrastructure and outmoded regulations.
Internatio...
Grassroots funding boosts green energy projects in Japan from 2017-08-20T12:40:25
Local communities in Japan are taking sustainable energy into their own hands, with small investors backing wind and solar projects instead of waiting for the government to act. Hometown investment...
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Will 2025 be the final deadline for the ASEAN Economic Community? from 2017-08-20T12:40:20
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has delayed establishing an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by a decade as it strives to emulate the European Union and promote collective growth....
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Asian financial crisis—looking back, looking forward. M. Ayhan Kose, World Bank from 2017-08-20T12:40:13
Asia’s emerging economies are becoming more focused on the region and less dependent on global markets, but they need to protect themselves from risks of becoming too reliant on the emerging giants...
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Financial regulations need to adapt to digital finance from 2017-08-10T06:56:48
Digital financial services are being used to draw more people into the global financial system. Digital financial services must therefore be developed and regulated to safeguard against risk and to...
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Path to financial inclusion is better financial education, literacy from 2017-08-10T06:56:39
As finance becomes more inclusive, financial services will reach people who have no experience with formal finance structures, and they may fail to use the services fully or properly. Financial edu...
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E-commerce is changing how the world does business from 2017-08-10T06:56:34
E-commerce is increasingly leading the way in the global marketplace, taking a bigger share of world trade, creating more jobs, and pushing economic growth, but also challenging Asia’s developing e...
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Pointers from Asia for urbanization in Africa from 2017-08-03T03:54:50
Africa and Asia are latecomers to urbanization. In these two continents, less than half live in urban centers, while elsewhere, more than 70% of people do. But Africa and Asia are now rapidly urban...
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Trade is ripe for disruption because it’s inefficient and not particularly inclusive. Alisa DiCaprio from 2017-08-03T03:53:44
Digital technology can speed up economic growth, but only if people have the right skills, said the panelists at the Asian Development Bank annual meeting in May. ADBI research fellow Alisa DiCapri...
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Central Asia and the Caucasus farm sector needs a boost from 2017-08-03T03:52:47
Agriculture in Central Asia and the Caucasus not only ensures the food supply, but also supports the majority of the rural population and creates jobs. Although agriculture’s share of gross domesti...
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Farms in Central Asia and the Caucasus face hurdles from 2017-07-26T06:59:04
Farms need the right policies, regulations, and institutions backing them. They need access to credit and adequate market infrastructure, support for technology and innovation, and greater opportun...
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Postal savings accounts benefit women, the poor, and rural people the most from 2017-07-26T06:58:59
Putting savings to work is crucial for Asia’s developing economies. In developing Asia, however, access to credit, savings and payment services remains limited. In 2014, only 36 percent of adults i...
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Blockchain pilots making waves in developing Asia from 2017-07-26T06:58:52
In a blockchain, each block is “chained” to the previous one in a peer-to-peer data sharing network.
We’ve all heard the buzz about the potential applications of blockchain technology. But...
Post offices can serve those who can’t access banks but must be regulated so they’re accountable from 2017-07-18T05:48:13
Post offices can deliver financial services to people who don’t have access to traditional banks. But developing efficient postal finance isn’t easy. Although it can have a powerful presence in an ...
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Viet Nam shows how to integrate an agricultural value chain from 2017-07-18T05:48:11
In 2010, Viet Nam launched a public–private partnership project called the Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture, which drew interest from big companies. The partnership successfully established ...
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What can governments in Asia do to help SMEs succeed in export markets? from 2017-07-18T05:48:08
The SME Competitiveness Outlook [http://www.intracen.org/SMEOutlook/SMECO2016/] of the International Trade Center helps governments understand the challenges that SMEs face in their quest to either...
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Education, jobs, SMES needed to spread wealth. Haruhiko Kuroda, Bank of Japan governor from 2017-07-06T03:04:06
Despite remarkable growth in per capita GDP over the past 50 years, poverty remains widespread in Asia, says Haruhiko Kuroda, governor of the Central Bank of Japan and former president of the Asian...
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SMEs need financial education; post offices can go where banks can’t. Naoyuki Yoshino, ADBI dean from 2017-07-06T03:01:47
Naoyuki Yoshino, dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute, told VTC10–NETVIET in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, that small business owners need education to be able to access finance. He also said that even...
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Negative interest rates to remain important. Narayana Kocherlakota, former Minneapolis Fed CEO from 2017-07-06T02:59:17
Negative interest rates will likely remain important, says the University of Rochester’s Professor Narayana Kocherlakota, former president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. But th...
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Global micro insurance can help reduce poverty from 2017-07-06T02:55:43
Micro insurance could potentially reach 3 billion people and earn the industry up to $30 billion from insurance premiums. But only about 5% of the total market in Asia, Africa, and Latin America is...
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Training, info, women’s involvement can bolster fragile states. Patrick Safran, ex- ADB official from 2017-07-06T02:53:51
Fragility and conflict are interlinked, particularly in states, as conflict is usually the result of fragility reaching a climax, says Patrick Safran, a senior official of the Asian Development Ban...
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SMEs need help with rules and entering export markets. Arancha Gonzales, ITC executive director from 2017-07-06T02:52:11
Standards and regulations for export companies are multiplying, and for a small company the challenge of complying can be daunting. To counter that, the International Trade Center—or ITC—focuses on...
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