Asia's Developing Future

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 more to access Asian markets to boost export revenues further. Businesses need to be able to ship more to export markets. Instead of maintaining trade barriers, governments should support them and help link them to buyers and distributors. Those are some of the hurdles discussed in the policy brief by Wawan Juswanto and Zulfiqar Ali of the Asian Development Bank Institute. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2qhLxmv Read the policy brief https://www.adb.org/publications/economic-growth-and-sustainable-development-pacific-island-countries About the authors Wawan Juswanto is special advisor to the dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Zulfiqar Ali was a research associate at ADBI at the time this policy brief was written. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2JpxtjP https://bit.ly/2zfIPlO

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 benefited more than higher-income ones. Numerous studies show that international trade can fuel economic growth and that open economies are generally more prosperous than more protectionist ones. Apart from creating jobs, freer trade can raise living standards and bring down the prices of goods and services. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2AoRAvy Read the working paper https://www.adb.org/publications/impact-import-competition-prc-income-inequality-household-welfare-viet-nam About the authors Matthias Helble was senior economist and ADBI Research Department co-chair at the time the study was published. Trang T. Le is an assistant professor at the Banking Academy in Viet Nam. Trinh Q. Long is a project consultant at ADBI. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2yX6UxG https://bit.ly/2EHk87B

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. By 2050, 85% of the world’s estimated 9.7 billion people will live in emerging countries, and about 70% will live in cities, according to a United Nations report. Growing populations will lead to soaring energy demands in the mega-cities that will continue to sprawl. Small-scale solar systems would be better for developing countries than big solar farms since they have less of an environmental impact and are more suited to the dense urban environments where the power is needed. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2JeCvj9 Read the working paper https://www.adb.org/publications/financing-solar-photovoltaic-transitions-utility-residential-market-adoption About the authors Ranaporn Tantiwechwuttikul is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences of the University of Tokyo. Masaru Yarime is an associate professor at the School of Energy and Environment of the City University of Hong Kong. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2yuMoFc https://bit.ly/2q8018u

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 without interference by third parties like banks. It creates trust as it assures investors that all recorded transactions are secure because the data are stored in multiple blocks and therefore difficult to manipulate. Another way the combined approach can build trust is by ensuring that projects are evaluated by a third-party assessor, who then stores the findings in a project assessment database grounded on blockchain technology. The stored data cannot be changed. Economist Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary of Waseda University in Tokyo, ADBI Dean Naoyuki Yoshino, and economics graduate student Tim Schlober of the University of Bonn in Germany and Keio University in Tokyo explain the benefits of the financing scheme. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2pVzoDW Read the blog post https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2018/07/trust-by-design-investment-a-novel-blockchain-based-approach-to-ease-green-energy-investments/ About the authors Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary is an economist of Waseda University in Tokyo. Naoyuki Yoshino is dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute. Tim Schlober is an economics graduate student of the University of Bonn in Germany and Keio University in Tokyo. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2Ad0EDv https://bit.ly/2EjArY6

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 thriving business career to take on the issue of global sanitation. Expanding the use of toilets would help stop diseases spread by people defecating in the open. More toilets would also lead to more women going to school, since a lack of toilets is often a reason that girls don’t attend school. In 2001, Sim began building the World Toilet Organization to promote sanitation by expanding the use of toilets. The United Nations has since recognized an annual World Toilet Day and through its World Toilet Summit and other initiatives, Sim’s organization continues to spread the word. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2IL6O0k Watch the whole presentation https://bit.ly/2C6if1m About the speaker Jack Sim is the founder of the Restroom Association of Singapore, the World Toilet Organization, the World Toilet Day initiative, and Bottom of the Pyramid Hub. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2pIycU9 https://bit.ly/2A1V6vG

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 Economic Cooperation or APEC broadly recognizes that financial inclusion is key to fighting poverty and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, more needs to be done to improve financial inclusion. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2Oj0rHR About the speakers Loi M. Bakani is governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea. Nobuhide Hayashi is Mizuho Bank chair and a member of Japan’s APEC Business Advisory Council. Michelle Curry is CEO of the Foundation for Development Cooperation, Australia. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2OTRrIM https://bit.ly/2E8lfgt

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 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development points out that on many measures the country remains well behind other OECD countries when it comes to the treatment of women in the workforce. Randall Jones, head of the Japan and Korea desk at the OECD, spoke on the issue at the Asian Development Bank Institute. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2zMgrsM About the speaker Randall Jones is head of the Japan and Korea desk of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2x0Xuku https://bit.ly/2NvNMA8

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? The issue becomes starker because the country’s government-linked firms account for about half the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index, and they constitute 7 out of the top-10 listed firms in 2018. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2NiFXJM Read the blog post https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2018/07/monsters-in-the-house-what-to-do-about-malaysias-government-linked-companies/ About the author Jayant Menon is a lead economist at the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department of the Asian Development Bank, Manila. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2y6WTgJ https://bit.ly/2Nddg0J

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 of the country’s toughest problems. Extending the network and improving access to it would benefit poorer parts of the country. The high-speed rail system has already helped offset some of the sharp divisions between rich and poor in China, a situation that often equates to an urban-rural divide. High-speed rail expansion has also taken some of the pressure off cities that are struggling with overpopulation and pollution, by making it easier for those cities to spread to less congested areas and for other centers to grow. Those are some of the conclusions of research done for the Asian Development Bank Institute that looked at the effects of the high-speed rail network on 110 cities in China. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2QVJH6Z Read the working paper https://bit.ly/2V8Hb27 About the authors Wei Zou is a professor and director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Wuhan University in the People’s Republic of China. Liangheng Chen and Junke Xiong are associate researchers at the institute. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2ojI31O https://bit.ly/2wp9hZq

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 Economic Co-operation and Development suggested that the problems for SMEs are deeply entrenched. Randall Jones, head of the OECD’s Japan and Korea desk, explained the issues facing Korean SMEs at an event hosted by the Asian Development Bank Institute. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2OUpRb7 About the speaker Randall Jones is head of the Japan and Korea desk of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2x0Xuku https://bit.ly/2NvNMA8

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 dynamic as Azerbaijan’s. Petroleum reserves brought boom times and the economy grew by 35% in the year 2006 alone. But the prosperity concealed a troubling undercurrent. When oil prices began dropping beginning in 2014, Azerbaijan’s economic resilience was tested. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2xtRsJx Read the working paper https://www.adb.org/publications/financial-inclusion-financial-literacy-and-financial-education-azerbaijan About the author Gubad Ibadoghlu is a senior policy analyst at the Scientific-Research Institute at Azerbaijan State University of Economics, Baku. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2PKHg64 https://bit.ly/2NUBP77

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. These huge diversified companies led the country’s emergence but have since become a drag on its growth. A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development looked at the issue. Randall Jones, head of the OECD’s Japan and Korea desk, suggested some ways to fix the problem at an event hosted by the Asian Development Bank Institute. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2MLS95p About the speaker Randall Jones is head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Japan and Korea desk. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2x0Xuku https://bit.ly/2NvNMA8

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 solid waste. The People’s Republic of China alone produces almost 150 million tons of waste every year, with the figure rising 8% to10% annually. India generates about 133,760 tons of solid waste per day, of which some 91,000 tons are collected and only around 26,000 tons treated. Economist Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary of Waseda University in Tokyo sums up the problem and the solution. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2O8qVaR Read the post on ADBI’s blog https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2018/06/sustainable-funding-schemes-for-the-development-of-waste-management-projects-in-asia/ About the authors Naoyuki Yoshino is the dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute and professor emeritus at Keio University, Tokyo. Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary is an assistant professor of economics, Waseda University, Tokyo. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2O4KrVJ Watch the related video https://bit.ly/2OMcNIH

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 Economic Co-operation and Development. Randall Jones, head of the OECD’s Japan and Korea desk, explained why at an event hosted by the Asian Development Bank Institute. Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2CJgklq About the speaker Randall Jones is head of the Orgnisation for Economic Co-operation’s Japan and Korea desk Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2x0Xuku https://bit.ly/2NvNMA8

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 welcome the factories of companies from the wealthier North, outsourcing comes with environmental costs. The People’s Republic of China, considered the world’s factory, is an example. Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, there has been an influx of companies moving their factories to the East Asian country. Attracted by the prospects of lower production costs and cheap labor, companies from the North outsourced production of garments, apparel, toys, footwear, tools, light machinery, electronics, and information technology products, among others, to China. But producing huge amounts of such goods has damaged China’s air, water, and soil, triggering deforestation, desertification, and global warming, while seriously endangering public health. The damage to China’s environment was estimated at $230 billion in 2010, or 3.5% of the nation’s gross domestic product—three times the damage in 2004. India, another country that welcomes outsourcing, has also seen similar damage to its environment. Industrial pollution has caused acid rain, damaging buildings, degrading the environment, and reducing crop yields. Wheat fields near a power plant produced 49% less than those 22 kilometers Read the transcript https://bit.ly/2oHcAHp Read the post on ADBI’s blog https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2017/12/international-outsourcing-environmental-costs-and-welfare/ About the authors Jai-Young Choi is a professor at the Department of Economics and Finance, Lamar University, Texas. Eden S. H. Yu is vice president and chair professor at the College of Business of Chu-Hai College of Higher Education in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, China. Know more about ADBI’s work https://bit.ly/2oF1PFo https://bit.ly/2kcLIzH https://bit.ly/2ojI31O https://bit.ly/2wp9hZq