Feature Archive 2007

Tsunami Three Years On

The 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the worst disasters in recent memory. We have published studies on the recovery efforts in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. These studies and more will be available in a new ADBI publication. Read the studies and post a comment.

Changing Expectations: CSR in Asia

What is the state of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Asia? How should corporations fulfill their social responsibilities in the countries where they do business? The Enhancing Corporate Social Responsibility conference identified issues, challenges and best practices of CSR activities and cases in Asia. Read the conference papers and view the presentations.

A Decade of Developments

How has the legacy of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis continued to influence regional finance? How can poverty reduction efforts be expanded to include concerns about inclusive growth? ADBI’s annual conference, marking 10 years of service to the region, addressed these and other issues. Read the speeches and view the presentations. Complete papers will be available in a forthcoming ADBI publication.

Foreign Ownership, Technological Capabilities, and Clothing Exports in Sri Lanka

Why do some firms perform better than others in outward-oriented developing countries? Drawing on developments in international trade, innovation and learning, a recent ADBI paper examines the links between firm-level export performance, foreign ownership, and the acquisition of technological capabilities in a sample of 205 clothing enterprises in Sri Lanka. Read the report and post a comment.

Innovating and Increasing the Venture Capital Industry

Venture capital and venture businesses are important factors for small and medium enterprise development and national development in developing economies. Participants at an ADBI-IADB sponsored LAEBA seminar shared experiences from Asia and Latin America, including lessons learned from Japan. Read the seminar summary..

Japan-PRC Relations

Do political events affect the economic relationship between Japan and the People's Republic of China? Peter Drysdale, Emeritus Professor, drawing from bilateral trade, conflict, and cooperation variables, presented findings at an ADBI distinguished speaker seminar on whether any relationship exists between trade and political conflict or cooperation. Read the post-event statement.

Financial Supervision in the Philippines

Is integrated financial supervision the way forward for the Philippines? A recent ADBI paper argues any effort to reform the country’s financial supervisory structure must address the country’s most fundamental need: to strengthen institutions and governance structures. Read the report and post a comment.

Education and Training Policies: Korea

In the 1960s, the Republic of Korea established economic growth as its primary goal. Since then, it has restructured the education and training system in order to supply a more highly skilled workforce required by changing industrial demands. A new report focuses on Korea’s education and training policies during the past 40 years. Download the report and post a comment.

East Asian Economic Dynamism

A decade after the 1997 financial crisis, East Asia has reemerged as a center of economic dynamism. ADBI is hosting a workshop to review how countries were able to transform the crisis into opportunities, analyze issues related to the financial, trade, and investment sectors, and to discuss the future of Asia and perspectives for deepening regional cooperation and integration. Read more.

Tax Policy Reform

Developing countries are facing two key taxation issues–a growing number of international tax treaties and an increased introduction of value-added tax (VAT) to offset the decline of customs duty revenues. At a recent ADB/ADBI workshop, participants shared country experiences and progress on tax reform. Read the summary and opening remarks.

Stronger Trade Ties – South Asia

How can South Asia benefit from the global economy in terms of faster growth and poverty reduction? Remarkable growth in two-way trade between India and Bangladesh has resulted in robust growth of the economies in the region. Our paper looks at opportunities, associated prospects and problems of economic cooperation between the two countries. Read more.

ASEAN +3 or +6: Which Way Forward?

East Asia has seen a surge in free trade agreements (FTAs) since the financial crisis. This ADBI paper suggests that consolidating multiple and overlapping FTAs into a single East Asian FTA could lessen the harmful “noodle bowl” effects of different rules of origin and standards and yield the largest gains to East Asia. Read the paper and post a comment.

Public Information Services

E-government has the potential to improve transparency in the public sector. It can also enhance the quality of life through inclusive public services for all. Participants in an ADBI distance learning course learnt about e-government applications which can serve as an effective medium for public information services. Read the course report..

Infrastructure and Regional Cooperation

Over the past 25 years Asian trade and investment growth has been phenomenal. Continuing Asia's transformation will require increasing attention on regional connectivity and logistic systems. A recent ADBI study focuses on the role of cross-border infrastructure in the process of regional integration. Given that most cross-border infrastructure projects are complex, stakeholders will need to take action to ensure successful results. Download the study.

Sri Lanka after the Tsunami

This study examines Sri Lanka's post-tsunami reconstruction and finds that future reconstruction efforts following major disasters should anticipate cost increases and include phased programs that consider the limitations of inputs for construction. Read the paper and post a comment.

Stabilizing the Yen

A new discussion paper examines the historical roots of Japan's continuing macroeconomic fragility, resulting in today's syndrome of the ever-weaker yen. The insights gained are relevant not only for Japan, but also for the People's Republic of China, which is under greater pressure than Japan to appreciate its currency. Read the paper and post a comment.

Community Information Centers

Information and communication technology has enormous potential to improve the livelihoods of low income people by reducing the cost of providing services to marginalized communities. Participants in our first distance learning course learnt about models of community information centers, issues in operating such centers and policies that support them. Read the course report.

Dynamics of Development in Rural Communities

How does infrastructure impact income growth in rural communities? Roads can initiate the delivery of other physical infrastructure to isolated communities. Roads also help in the delivery of capacity building activities and community organizing, thus empowering the community. A recent study explores the process of rural development at the community level in the Philippines. Read the paper and post a comment.

Thailand after the Tsunami

Two years after the tsunami, Thailand has made major steps towards recovering from the worst economic effects of the disaster. A new study examines responses to the tsunami and evaluates its reconstruction effort. It highlights the importance of adequate and equitable financial assistance, and the value of counseling and advice to cope with mental trauma and stress. Download the study and post a comment.

Capital Flows and Exchange Rates

Koichi Hamada, Professor of Economics at Yale University spoke about capital flows and exchange rates issues focusing on current account imbalances in the PRC, Japan, and the US at a recent distinguished speaker seminar. Read the post-event statement and view the presentation.

Convergence in Agriculture

Is it possible for Asian countries to attain equality in agricultural production? This paper explores the dynamics of convergence and the role of foreign trade, official development assistance intended for agriculture, and public expenditures. The author proposes an agricultural growth model to verify the agricultural convergence hypothesis among some Asian countries. Download the paper.

Infrastructure Influences Trade Flows Through Costs

At a recent ADBI conference, international experts examined how infrastructure can be a cost-effective way of lowering trade costs thus promoting growth and regional cooperation. They explored recent trends in trade patterns, composition, and transport modes, and employed a cross-country analysis to highlight the effects of infrastructure development on reducing trade costs. Read the papers and preliminary results of the research.

Has Asia Learnt From the Financial Crisis?

In July 1997 the financial crisis began in Thailand and spread to surrounding countries. On the tenth anniversary of the crisis, ADBI organized a workshop to examine what lessons have been learned, what reforms have been undertaken, and how susceptible the region is to another crisis. Read speeches and more from the workshop.

Infrastructure and Regional Development in the People's Republic of China

Is there a linkage between infrastructure and rural economic development in the PRC? This recent paper reviews the progress of Chinese economic and rural reform and analyzes the challenges facing the PRC. The authors discuss the interaction between soft and hard infrastructure, and propose reforms that could benefit PRC’s rural development. Download the paper.

Microfinance and the Private Sector's Role

Microfinance can benefit millions of poor and low-income people to build their capacity to generate income, thus helping them to escape from poverty. A recent symposium to share microfinance knowledge with the Japanese community focused on innovative ways the private sector has been supporting the microfinance movement. Read the post event statement and view event presentations.

What progress in Aceh and Nias?

In December 2004 a massive tsunami destroyed much of Aceh, and soon after an earthquake devastated nearby Nias Island. Our latest discussion paper examines the recovery and reconstruction experience of Indonesia following these twin disasters. The authors draw lessons for institutional development and policy formulation to cope with future natural disasters. Download the discussion paper.

Exchange Rate Regimes

Max Corden, of the University of Melbourne, talked about exchange rate regimes’ role in the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, and implications of allowing the renminbi to float, at our latest distinguished speaker seminar. View the Summary.

Currency Basket System for East Asia?

Deepening market-driven economic integration in East Asia makes intraregional exchange rate stability across the region increasingly desirable and necessary. Our latest paper suggests that East Asia’s emerging economies should begin with a currency basket system based on the G3 or G3-plus currencies as a monetary policy anchor. Download the paper.

Regional Trade Agreements: Good for India?

The paper highlights important issues related to rules governing RTAs and proposes solutions for India. As the key to growth for developing economies like India, the author calls for stricter rules governing RTAs in the WTO regime and unilateral trade policies. Download the paper.

PRC’s Macroeconomic Issues

Yu Yongding, Director-General of PRC’s Institute of World Economics and Politics, talked about PRC’s macroeconomic management issues at the second seminar in our distinguished speaker series. He focused on renminbi flexibility, foreign exchange reserve management, asset market developments, monetary policy and financial system soundness in the PRC.

Who’s in First? A Regional Development Index for PRC

Although PRC has experienced tremendous economic growth over the past thirty years, regional disparities are large and growing. Our latest discussion paper offers an index system that provides information on the relative position of each province in different development fields. The index assesses achievements using ten field indices, including infrastructure, environmental protection, economic development, and social equity.

The Dynamics of Regional Development: The Philippines in East Asia

The authors' core findings are that countries must establish a stable regulatory environment, must invest in infrastructure with regional developments in mind, and must resolve regional conflicts for the local and national good. Read the overview and first chapter.

Industrial and Competition Policy: Conflict or Complementarity?

Should developing countries allocate scarce resources to promoting and ensuring competition? Or should they favor selected sectors which contribute most to desired, long term, developmental goals? This paper examines the different characteristics of industrial and competition policies and debates whether they can be mutually reinforcing.

Ageing Asia: Challenges and Response

ADBI is addressing these issues at two major events: a seminar in Kyoto on 7 May and workshop in Tokyo on 8 May. Read some earlier papers about this topic.

Investing in Infrastructure

Asia faces huge infrastructure investment requirements and an equally huge gap in available financing. As infrastructure has cross-border implications, enhancing regional cooperation in financing infrastructure investment would play a critical role in infrastructure development in the region. Find out about ADBI's work in infrastructure.

How Do Industrial Clusters Help SMEs?

Clusters can be an effective means of promoting small and medium enterprises. At a recent seminar, participants learnt about successful cluster-based cases in the Asia-Pacific region. Read the newly published papers and presentations.

Do Microfinance Programs Really Help the Poor?

Microfinance is recognized as an effective development tool to fight poverty and improve the livelihoods of poor and low-income people. While the gap between the supply and demand for microfinance services is huge, the main constraint is the lack of capacity in operating sustainable institutions, not the lack of funds. Review ADBI’s microfinance-related research and capacity building programs.

Promoting ICT in Education

Innovation in ICT transforms the way we work, the way we interact, the way we learn, and the way we live. The use of multimedia tools in education helps students grasp complex processes and concepts. At a recent workshop in Nepal, participants learnt about multimedia technologies and developed computer courseware based on sound learning theories. Read more about this course.

Infrastructure and Economic Growth: Impact in Kazakhstan

Providing appropriate infrastructure in developing countries can play a vital role in poverty reduction. Infrastructure makes it possible to overcome "natural" causes of poverty such as remoteness from material and information resources, provides access to social services, and helps to increase the mobility and economic activities of the population.

Our latest discussion paper examines two aspects of economic growth in Kazakhstan: the influence of economic growth and infrastructure development on poverty reduction and how economic growth increases the demand for infrastructure and social services development. Download this paper.

Rural Development: Impact of Infrastructure

Our latest discussion paper focuses on the impact of infrastructure, specifically roads, on rural development. The author concludes with policy recommendations, including the need for stakeholders' input into project identification and income source diversification. Download this paper.

Why China should keep its dollar peg

Ronald McKinnon, Professor of International Economics at Stanford University, the first speaker in our new distinguished speaker series, talked about China's dollar exchange rate peg, drawing on Japan's experience from 1971 through the early 1990s. Read the summary of the seminar.

Meeting the MDG Water Target in Asia

Which Asian countries will reach the water and sanitation targets of MDG 7? Is there a role for international cooperation and regional strategies in promoting access to water? The author argues that cooperation can make a significant impact in helping countries achieve targets. Review the findings.

Trade Facilitation: What, Why, How, Where, When

This paper surveys recent developments on trade facilitation, defined as reform of non-tariff barriers. The author explains why trade facilitation matters, how to measure it, the gains from reform, and ways to implement it at the global, regional and unilateral level. Download this paper.

The Philippines and Regional Development

What kinds of decentralization policies are best to promote regional development? How should countries in the Asia-Pacific region pursue their economic devolution programs? The authors examine regional development in the Philippines to provide lessons that can be applied in that country, and also internationally. Download the Overview.

Infrastructure's Role in Regional Cooperation

How can infrastructure development foster regional cooperation and integration? The recent Latin America and Asia-Pacific Economics Business Association conference explored this question. Review the newly published papers and presentations from the conference.

Dollarization in Lao PDR

The multiple currency phenomenon (MCP) in Lao PDR takes the form of the use of foreign currencies such as dollars and baht in the presence of a domestically issued currency. What are the implications, costs and benefits of MCP for Lao PDR? Should the Government intervene? In this latest discussion paper, the author attempts to answer these questions.
Read the findings in the report.

Why bilateral trade agreements are popular

Our recent discussion paper attempts to answer this question and examines the impact BTAs are having on multilateralism.
Comment on this discussion paper.

NGO Law and Governance

ADBI's new publication is a survey of issues affecting internationally operating NGOs. This useful resource provides practical tips for managing civil society operations. Download the publication for free.