In the current global financial crisis, 15 September 2008 marked a decisive turning point. It was the day that the American investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. collapsed, exacerbating the financial turmoil and causing an extraordinary downward spiral in confidence. It was also the day...

Five years since the start of the global financial crisis, the world economy continues to face downside risks, while the outlook remains clouded by weak market sentiments. Governments in developed economies are engaging in fiscal consolidation, which is negatively affecting their economic...

The world leaders gathered at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (referred to as Rio+20) called for “adopting forward-looking macroeconomic policies that promote sustainable development and lead to sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth…” (para. 150). This is, in...

Macroeconomic stability of economies is increasingly imperiled by the impact of volatile global short-term capital movements spurred by monetary policies in developed economies. In recent months there has been pressure for capital outflows from the region as sentiment grows that the United...

ESCAP analysis indicates that a minimum wage policy, if designed carefully along with supportive adjustment measures, boosts workers’ income and improves long-term job prospects without adversely affecting businesses. For example, recent minimum wage hikes in Thailand are projected to increase...

Asia-Pacific economies are increasingly concerned about the impact of the public debt crisis in a number of European economies. In recent months, the scale of public debt in Greece in particular, but also in Ireland, Portugal and Spain, has led to credit downgrades and increases in the debt...

New measures and strategies for the sustainable development of the least developed countries into the next decade should pay special attention to the transformation of their productive capacities – not only to produce more of the same but to produce and trade new and more sophisticated...

On 25-26 October 2010, ESCAP organized a high-level consultation on the agenda of the G20 Seoul Summit, in response to the request to facilitate discussion of non-G20 perspectives, made by this year’s G20 chair, the Republic of Korea during ESCAP’s 66th Commission session in May 2010. At the...

With the rise of emerging countries in the Asia and Pacific region as growth poles of the world economy, South-South cooperation (SSC) and triangular development cooperation (TDC) have become viable strategies for development. This Policy Brief reviews the emerging trends and patterns of SSC and...

Despite high and long-lasting economic growth, inequalities are widening in most countries in Asia and the Pacific. Currently over 1.6 billion people in the region live on less than $2 per day, of which more than 740 million live on less than $1.25 per day, deprived of basic rights, and...