The signs of digital technology adoption are evident across Southeast Asia. In big cities, the use of mobile phones for messaging and social media has become ubiquitous. Ride-sharing services and delivery riders using apps to obtain their next booking are changing the face of urban transport and...

The report stipulates growth in Emerging East Asian countries eased modestly from 7.5 percent in 2004 to 6.8 percent in 2005. The slower pace of activity was most clear in the Newly Industrialized Economies (NIEs), and in some of the middle income economies of South East Asia. But it was not...

Although economic linkages between South Asia and Southeast Asia have been strengthened over the past decade, integration between these two regions remains limited. Can new approaches to regional integration help revitalize trade and economic links between South Asia and Southeast Asia This...

This report explores gender differences in entrepreneurship for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) in Southeast Asia. It analyzes data from five Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, and reviews existing...

Authorities in East Asia Pacific (EAP) jurisdictions have adopted a battery of fiscal, monetary, and financial measures aimed at mitigating the unprecedented impacts of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the economy. This report discusses the quality of loan portfolios in the...

Long COVID: Scars and Opportunity. The title of this report has two meanings. First, that the disease will leave in its wake a durably damaged economy. Second, that the disease is not leaving any time soon and may be here to stay. This duality reflects the two themes of this Update. In the near...

Amidst a fragile recovery, three clouds are gathering over the economic horizon: US inflation could provoke financial tightening, China's structural slowdown and zero-COVID-19 policy could dampen regional exports, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could disrupt food and fuel supplies,...

Growth in the developing East Asia and Pacific region slowed sharply in 2020Q1 because of the negative impact of the Covid-19 on economic activity. The decline has been broad-based reflecting the interconnectedness of the EAP economies and reverberations from the global economy as the virus...

Developing East Asia is battling the forces of global recession. The impact of the crisis in the advanced countries was transmitted to the economies of the region with unusual speed. In the region, the initial global financial turbulence was marked by sudden reversals of capital flows in the...