The ongoing euro zone debt crisis creates an undesirable scenario for the global economy as well as for the Asia-Pacific region given that the region has close economic linkages. The paper aims to provide quantitative estimates of the potential impact of the euro zone debt crisis on merchandise...

High food prices have put increasing inflationary pressures across the Asia-Pacific region and threatened food security. Bad weather in important food-producing countries and speculation in commodity markets have affected global food supplies and added volatility to booming commodity markets...

This paper analyses the effect of public and private health expenditures on the achievement of health-related MDGs. It finds that three quarters of the variation of health-related MDG indicators can be explained by public and private health expenditure per capita when controlling for levels of...

The paper provides quantitative estimates of the productive capacities of the countries in the Asia- Pacific region and their evolution in the past 25 years. It updates the results for 2009 presented in the ESCAP’s Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2011 and details the...

This paper estimates the impact of the high food prices of 2010 on income poverty and the achievement of MDG 1 in Asia and the Pacific. It also estimates the impacts of high price during 2011 under various scenarios for the prices of food and oil. We find that although the high food prices of...

Building productive capacities is a top priority for least developed countries to promote development and graduate from the status of least developed country. This paper discusses the challenges and the opportunities for these countries to build their productive capacities. It argues that the...

This paper argues that, with the removal of international sanctions and the opening up of the economy, fostering economic activity and facilitating investment in new and more productive industries will best facilitate inclusive economic growth in Myanmar. With a perspective that emphasizes the...

This paper approaches inclusive development in South and South-West Asia through the framework of structural transformation and productive capacities. It discusses the opportunities for these countries to build their productive capacities through product diversification and presents a list of...

Catastrophes caused by natural hazards that hit “without warning” serve as grim reminders of the challenge that governments and civil society face in identifying and protecting the areas that are at risk of extreme events. This paper presents a methodology to estimate the threshold of social...

Although the Asia-Pacific region has made significant progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), most of its countries are still off-track on one or more indicators. This policy brief examines what would it take for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to meet their MDG targets by...