Asia's Developing Future

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. Governor Diokno describes the Philippine central bank’s roadmap for overcoming pandemic shocks and building a stronger, more technologically advanced, and more inclusive economy. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2Rt1hEB Related link ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno on Financial Digitalization and Inclusive COVID-19 Recovery https://bit.ly/3wgNHmC

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, and also helped the region’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises remain economically viable by offering faster and cheaper financial services than traditional banking. However, economies and communities may be unable to reap the financial inclusion benefits of fintech without sufficient levels of digital and financial literacy and digital payment infrastructure development. A recent virtual conference organized by the ADBI, the Asian Development Bank and the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School examined the role and impact of fintech during the pandemic. In this podcast, ADBI Research Fellow John Beirne discusses some of the key insights from the event, as well as the implications for policy makers going forward. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/3ezT8Wx Related link Virtual Conference on Fintech and COVID-19 https://bit.ly/2Sb1nAM

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 the importance of latrine construction in schools for driving primary school enrollment, particularly among girls. She also discusses the policy implications of these dynamics for education and sanitation development, investment in school infrastructure, and gender equality. The discussion draws upon her ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar on sanitation, education, and development. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2QjY9ub Related link ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar: Anjali Adukia on Sanitation, Education, and Development https://bit.ly/2QIxIhm

Greater infrastructure development could give remote, landlocked Central Asian economies a critical boost by enhancing pandemic recovery, poverty eradication, and climate change mitigation. However, growing constraints on the use of public funds will require new financing sources to tackle the region’s substantial infrastructure investment gap. In this podcast, ADBI research fellow Dina Azhgaliyeva and Waseda University professor Naoyuki Yoshino examine the unique challenges of Central Asian infrastructure development and ways to attract greater private financing in the region moving forward. The discussion draws upon the new ADBI press book, Developing Infrastructure in Central Asia: Impacts and Financing Mechanisms. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2PO9DFO Related link Developing Infrastructure in Central Asia: Impacts and Financing Mechanisms https://bit.ly/3dpFRPy

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 advancing inclusive economic recovery and resilience in the face of COVID-19 challenges. In this podcast, Waseda University professor emeritus and ADBI visiting fellow, Shujiro Urata, examines the importance of boosting SME trade for developing Asia and the Pacific at this juncture. He describes opportunities and challenges to increasing SME engagement in cross-border production and supply chains, also known as global supply chains, how SMEs could help to meet demand for facial masks, and related policy keys moving forward. The discussion draws upon his new book, Enhancing SME Participation in Global Value Chains: Determinants, Challenges, and Policy Recommendations. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/30jYdLM Related link Enhancing SME Participation in Global Value Chains: Determinants, Challenges, and Policy Recommendations https://bit.ly/3qrrpen

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, geography, settlement patterns, conflicting cultures, and unique country-level land use problems often raise concerns about the fairness of land procurement and undermine project viability. In this podcast, Piyush Tiwari of the University of Melbourne examines land development challenges and the importance of balancing the rights and interests of vulnerable communities with broader infrastructure imperatives. He also describes policy recommendations for strengthening equitable land use, management practices, and infrastructure financing in the region. The discussion draws upon the new book, Equitable Land Use for Asian Infrastructure, which he co-edited. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2N5jW7n Related link Equitable Land Use for Asian Infrastructure https://bit.ly/3k4r7bR

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 crucial to the region’s inclusive and sustainable COVID-19 recovery and development. In this podcast, ADBI Vice Chair of Research, Peter Morgan, examines SME trade challenges in Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation – CAREC – countries. He also describes the importance of boosting the region’s SME participation in production and supply chains and measures for doing so. The discussion draws upon the new book, Leveraging SME Finance through Value Chains in CAREC Landlocked Countries, which Morgan co-edited with Naoyuki Yoshino, Professor Emeritus at Keio University and former Dean of ADBI. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/36Ci503 Related link Leveraging SME Finance through Value Chains in CAREC Landlocked Countries https://bit.ly/3pOnb0O#

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. In this podcast, ADBI Dean and CEO, Tetsushi Sonobe, discusses the importance of digital development for reviving growth among the region’s developing economies, related challenges and signs of progress, and the road ahead. He draws upon the findings of new ADBI survey research of MSMEs across Asia and the Pacific. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/3nqOJYs Related link ADBI-ADB Webinar on COVID-19 Impacts on Asian MSMEs and Households https://bit.ly/394xqHi COVID-19 Impacts on ASEAN Households: Survey Findings https://bit.ly/38jyk3x

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 economies in developing Asia and the Pacific. In this podcast, ADBI research fellow, John Beirne, discusses the ways in which climate risks affect the cost of sovereign borrowing and the sustainability of public finances, with a focus on Southeast Asia which is highly threatened by climate change. The discussion draws upon the new book, Climate Change and Sovereign Risk, which Beirne co-wrote, together with experts from SOAS University of London, ADBI, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, and 427. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/3hazrp5 Related link Climate Change and Sovereign Risk https://bit.ly/3pr3VWX Exploring the link between climate change and sovereign risk https://bit.ly/2KQlCQI

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 region that already was experiencing rapid trash accumulation driven by increasing prosperity and urbanization. In this podcast, ADBI’s senior capacity building and training specialist, Linda Arthur, and research associate, Derek Hondo, describe keys to addressing solid waste management gaps in fast-growing cities in Asia and the Pacific and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, against the backdrop of new pandemic-related pressures. The discussion stems from their new policy brief, Solid Waste Management in Developing Asia: Prioritizing Waste Separation. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/385Mzru Related link Solid Waste Management in Developing Asia: Prioritizing Waste Separation https://bit.ly/3qYJXnW

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, John Beirne, discusses the increasing prominence of the digital economy and digital finance and how continued digitalization will affect policies aimed at managing Asia and the Pacific’s emerging market economies. The discussion draws upon the new book, Macroeconomic Stabilization in the Digital Age, which Beirne co-edited with David G. Fernandez of the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics at Singapore Management University. The views in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2KUngR6 Related link Macroeconomic Stabilization in the Digital Age https://bit.ly/33Fm4rj

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 navigate COVID-19 challenges and advance sustainable and inclusive global recovery. In this podcast, Asian Development Bank Institute Dean Tetsushi Sonobe discusses the policy making environment amid the pandemic, the potential for breakthroughs, and T20 research to guide policy innovation during Saudi Arabia’s G20 presidency and beyond. The views in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2Iz4mho Related link Think20 (T20) https://bit.ly/36tzszz

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 infrastructure growth as a sustainable and inclusive recovery driver in politically charged environments. The views in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Read the transcript https://bit.ly/32gYgt9 Related link Confronting COVID-19: ADBI Solutions for Asia and the Pacific https://bit.ly/2SR1DlC

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 Training Economist, Pitchaya Sirivunnabood, discusses the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the region’s aging societies and strategies for safeguarding seniors moving forward. The views in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Developme Read the transcript https://bit.ly/34bDjRZ Related link Confronting COVID-19: ADBI Solutions for Asia and the Pacific https://bit.ly/2SR1DlC

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 farming and tourism in developing Asia and the Pacific. In this podcast, ADBI Dean Tetsushi Sonobe discusses what the surveys are revealing about the state of the region’s pandemic response and policy keys for promoting an inclusive and sustainable recovery moving forward. The views in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Read the transcript https://bit.ly/3lH0MAk Related link Confronting COVID-19: ADBI Solutions for Asia and the Pacific https://bit.ly/2SR1DlC