This working paper introduces the concept of bilateral asymmetries in international merchandise trade statistics (IMTS), i.e. the discrepancies that can be seen in reported bilateral trade flows between trading partners. Such discrepancies mean that the value of exports reported by one country...

This paper examines the developments of cross-border portfolio assets and liabilities in the Asia and Pacific region over the periods of 2001-2017. Rapid increases in both portfolio foreign assets and liabilities have taken place particularly after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. These...

Despite remarkable growth during the last decade, Asia and the Pacific still faces extensive basic infrastructure needs. Furthermore, to cope up with the reduced export demand from advanced economies arising out of the ongoing financial crisis, the region needs to enhance its connectivity...

Children appear to learn better when taught in their mother tongue. This finding gives rise to an argument that mother tongue-based multilingual education could effectively improve learning outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. However, the challenges of implementing an effective...

Hydrogen is regarded as one of the limited options for decarbonizing the hard-to-abate industrial sector. This work investigates the status and potential of green and blue hydrogen in some major industrial sectors, including oil refining, chemical production, iron and steel production, and...

Asia is home to 60% of the world's population, 52% of global agricultural production, and 43% of agriculture-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While a large portion of the Asian population depends on agriculture for their livelihood and food security, the agriculture sector is one of the...

We examine the determinants of financial development in Asia and the Pacific from 1995 to 2011. To do so, we apply the dynamic generalized method of moments to a panel data set of 26 economies in the region. We find that better governance and institutional quality foster financial development in...

Asia remained the largest market for energy sources in 2018. The Russian Federation has a clear vision to develop its Asian energy projects in order to provide a greater share of Asian energy imports. This paper models Russian Federation-Asia and the Pacific energy trade patterns via the gravity...