Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is widely accepted as the business sector's contribution to inclusive and sustainable development. Thus, government can harness the CSR agenda in pursuit of this goal. There are several reasons why governments should seek to promote CSR: greater social and...

Managing climate change caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has been recognized as one of the world’s greatest challenges in current times, in particular in Asia and the Pacific which accounts for most of the world’s GHG emissions. Such temperature rises in turn are expected to result...

The growth of agricultural trade has direct implications for the Asia-Pacific region. Agricultural supply chains employ millions of people and there is a growing need for food commodities and high-value food products. The Asia-Pacific region is both a major consumer and producer of agricultural...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Asia and are effective job creators and income generators. In addition, SMEs play a key role in poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth. However, SMEs in the subregion often face considerable resource constraints and have limited capabilities...

The value of world exports of commercial services rose by 11% in 2011 to $4,170 billion, exceeding pre-crisis levels of $3,850 billion in 2008. Half of world exports of commercial services in 2011 consisted of travel receipts and other business services. Asia-Pacific as a region increased its...

Can Africa's current state of under-development be partially attributed to the large trade in slaves that occurred during the Atlantic, Saharan, Red Sea and Indian Ocean slave trades? To answer this question, I combine shipping data with historical records that report slave ethnicities and...

Unfulfilled expectations about economic growth in Brazil has led many observers to question the ability of the new, open trade regime to put the economy back on an path of sustainable growth. Whereas the country’s growth record has been really poor, the evidence suggests that the underlying...