Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are often advocated as an effective mechanism for delivering water and sanitation services. At the same time it is argued that in developing countries the private sector lacks the incentives to extend services to the poor and that PPPs may only be able to...

Financial development enhances domestic resource mobilisation and also allows these resources to the most productive uses. While there is little doubt that financial development leads to higher economic growth which may then lead to poverty reduction, financial development in itself will allow...

Global macroeconomic imbalances are among the key issues facing policymakers, especially in the US and China which are the two major affected / contributing parties. While there has been a great deal of discussion and disagreement on this important issue, what all sides have in common is the...

This paper is an edited version of the text of the Distinguished Persons Lecture delivered by Mr Haruhiko Kuroda, President of Asian Development Bank at ESCAP in Bangkok on 11 November 2010. The region needs to invest in an efficient system of regional infrastructure for a seamless Asia to...

Asia was faced with a sudden and sharp crisis in 2008-2009, the proximate cause of which was reversals in foreign capital flows, not unlike the regional crisis a decade ago. How different has this boom and bust cycle of international capital flows been from the previous one? The paper examines...

The subprime mortgage crisis erupted in the United States in mid-2007 and was then transformed into the global financial crisis after the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The total amount of write-downs of loans and securities by financial institutions for 2007-2010 is estimated to...

This paper assesses quantitatively the importance of living or working environmental constraints in people's activity limitations in day-to-day work/school and participation restrictions (such as joining in community activities). It applies an Ordered Logit Model to examine data from a WHO/ESCAP...

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...

Asia and the Pacific, despite visible signs of prosperity due to years of rapid economic growth, has made insufficient progress in freeing its population from hunger and malnutrition, the most basic marker of true development. Given the importance of reducing poverty and hunger as core...

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...