Asia's Developing Future

Asia's Developing Future

By Asian Development Bank InstituteEducation
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Asia's Developing Future episodes

  • Internal migration rules decrease trade benefits, increase disparity in the PRC
    Limits to internal migration increase disparity and keep the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from reaping the full benefit of its trade and industry success.
    The PRC’s internal registration system, known as “hukou,” calls for residents to be registered and identified in the places they live. Although the system has been somewhat relaxed over the last few decades, obtaining hukou in cities such as Beijing or Shanghai remains difficult for those who move there in search of work.
    Workers who come to those cities without valid hukou are not eligible for some jobs or the full range of social services available to official residents.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2Ko8OjI
    Read the working paper
    https://bit.ly/2U7PTdR
    About the authors
    Yuan Zi is an assistant professor at the University of Oslo in Norway.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
    https://bit.ly/2UOCN8F
    6 min
  • Manufacturing in developing countries benefits from quality service firms
    Services firms can help manufacturing grow in developing countries. But the quality and technological competence of those companies is what matters most when it comes to positive spillover effects. The simple existence of service firms isn’t enough to make a difference for manufacturers. In addition, countries which allow more open trade in services can expect to see a greater benefit for their manufacturing sector, and that is especially true for low-income countries. The makeup of manufacturing companies is also a factor in whether they will benefit from contact with services firms.
    Those are the main findings of a working paper for the Asian Development Bank Institute, which looked at the spillover benefits that service firms can have on manufacturing.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2JUYGyC
    Read the working paper
    https://bit.ly/2TRudkC
    About the authors
    Deborah Winkler is a senior consultant and principal at Global Economic Policy LLC.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
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    5 min
  • More work is needed to help local renewable power projects succeed
    Liberalizing energy markets so that locally generated renewable energy projects have a chance to compete with big utilities is only the first step in getting those projects off the ground.
    Other policies are needed to ensure the participation of local politicians and consumers. Those policies should promote financial returns from local power suppliers that are large enough to compete with traditional suppliers. And everyone needs to know that the profits of those local providers are being reinvested locally.
    Those are two of the recommendations of a working paper for the Asian Development Bank Institute that looked at energy market reforms in Japan and France.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2JKtoKQ
    Read the working paper
    https://bit.ly/2FIZgLW
    About the authors
    Aki Suwa is a professor at the Faculty for the Contemporary Society of Kyoto Women's University in Japan.
    Magali Dreyfus is a researcher at the National Centre for Scientific Research and the Center for European Research on Administration, Politics and Society, of Lille University in France.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
    https://bit.ly/2V1rgzl
    7 min
  • A new consumption tax could fund development of necessary low-carbon energy system
    A general tax on consumption that would fund the development of a low-carbon energy system is the only way greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced in time to benefit future generations. The solutions being tried now are not getting the job done.
    That’s the message of a recent working paper for the Asian Development Bank Institute. The paper explains why the solutions most commonly being used now are not working. It details how a new consumption tax could fund the research and development needed to avoid a coming disaster. Jatin Nathwani of the University of Waterloo and Artie W. Ng of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University explain.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2HIDOYL
    Read the working paper
    https://www.adb.org/publications/cap-invest-strategy-managing-intergenerational-burden-financing-energy-transitions
    About the authors
    Jatin Nathwani is Ontario Research Chair in Public Policy for Sustainable Energy and Executive Director at the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy of the University of Waterloo in Canada.
    Artie W. Ng is principal lecturer with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, China.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
    https://bit.ly/2TPOWu4
    7 min
  • Governments should consider local conditions in bank regulations to aid the poor
    Research has shown that better access to banking can help lift people out of poverty. A recent study in Bangladesh confirms that link. But it also suggests that policy makers should consider the large regional and local differences when applying regulations.
    The study, detailed in a recent working paper for the Asian Development Bank Institute, matched maps compiled from poverty data in Bangladesh with maps that tracked local-level banking services.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2HouDN3
    Read the working paper
    https://www.adb.org/publications/regional-variations-banking-services-poverty-reduction-evidence-bangladesh
    About the authors
    Kazi Iqbal is a senior research fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
    Paritosh K. Roy is assistant professor at the Institute of Statistical Research and Training of the University of Dhaka.
    Shamsul Alam is senior secretary of the General Economics Division of the Planning Commission, Government of Bangladesh.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
    https://bit.ly/2NXnxAg
    https://bit.ly/2CeOURR
    7 min
  • FinTech advances can help farmers in Asia and the institutions that serve them
    Advances in financial technology can help farmers in Asia raise money to improve their operations and deal with the risks that come from uncertain weather and other factors outside their control.
    A mass migration is taking place in Asia as people move from farms to the cities, raising standards of living as countries industrialize. Still, farming remains very important to much of developing Asia. And improving the lives of farmers means improving the lives of the poorest citizens, in many cases.
    Research has shown that almost all the poverty reduction in Asia since 2002 took place in rural areas. So, while the importance of agriculture to Asian economies is mostly declining, it remains the sector with the strongest role in reducing poverty.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2GX5lWX
    Read the working paper
    https://www.adb.org/publications/use-financial-technology-agriculture-sector
    About the authors
    Craig McIntosh is a professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy of the University of California, San Diego.
    Caio Scuarcialupi Mansini is a graduate student in the same school.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
    https://bit.ly/2Xu9d6C
    https://bit.ly/2HeEtkC
    Watch the related video
    https://bit.ly/2Td4M1r
    6 min
  • Indian cities can partner with foreign peers to get ahead
    Indian cities should establish teams to tap the expertise contained within their global counterparts.
    Rather than starting from scratch, they can jump ahead by connecting with counterparts that have already navigated the challenges they face. For example, they can learn how to brand themselves as prime locations for corporate ecosystems by partnering with global peers.
    The home for these collaborations should be urban local bodies, known as ULBs, the organizations charged with planning and development for their cities. ULBs should focus some of their efforts on collaborating with their peers as a major tool to advance their goals. Prasad Thakur, a founding member of the War Room—City Transformation Unit at Pune Municipal Corporation, India, explains.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2Sr5VNK
    Read the blog
    https://bit.ly/2SZDpbd
    About the authors
    KE Seetha Ram is a senior consulting specialist for ADBI’s capacity building and training projects.
    Prasad Thakur is a founding member of the War Room—City Transformation Unit at Pune Municipal Corporation, India.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
    https://bit.ly/2NsHkHv
    https://bit.ly/2NuerL8
    5 min
  • Thailand needs better tax regulations, enforcement to fight “shadow” economy
    Thailand has been using tax policies to promote growth and encourage foreign investment. Some of those measures have succeeded but more attention needs to be paid to the revenue-raising side of the tax regime.
    Globalization has disrupted the way countries think about their tax regimes. In the past, the issue of double taxation was at the forefront, whether companies would have to pay tax in both their home country and in other countries where they had a presence. Today, the issue is whether they will be taxed at all.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2BDVvoz
    Read the report
    https://www.adb.org/publications/tax-and-development-challenges-in-asia-pacific
    Read the chapter
    https://bit.ly/2J0RJb7
    About the author
    Patricia Mongkhonvanit is deputy director-general of the Revenue Department of Thailand.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
    https://bit.ly/2DswkGU
    https://bit.ly/2FKtYVW
    5 min
  • People’s Republic of China needs to step up property and income tax reforms
    Increasing the use of property and income taxes in the People’s Republic of China won’t be popular, but it is necessary. Relying more on property and income tax will not only help the China government balance its budget but could smooth income inequality and limit unrestrained urban expansion.
    As countries develop, they tend to keep balance between indirect taxes such as a levy on goods and services and direct taxes on incomes and property. That allows the government to use tax policy to meet social or fiscal goals while raising money to invest in a social safety net.
    In China, direct taxes account for a much smaller percentage of total tax revenue than in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In 2014, China raised 9.5% of its revenue through direct taxes, compared with 20.3% on average in OECD countries.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2E6FSHU
    Read the report
    https://www.adb.org/publications/tax-and-development-challenges-in-asia-pacific
    Read the chapter
    https://bit.ly/2BNcR2h
    About the authors
    Jürgen Conrad headed the Asian Development Bank’s economics team in Beijing at the time this paper was written.
    Jian Zhuang is an economist at ADB’s Resident Mission in Beijing.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
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    https://bit.ly/2FKtYVW
    7 min
  • Postal savings banks should be tapped to strengthen financial systems in emerging Asia
    Postal savings banks should be developed as a key factor of the economies in emerging Asia. Building or rebuilding postal savings banks would help modernize and deepen financial systems that are still vulnerable to the whims of global capital flows, as well as provide financial services to citizens who lack access to them.
    A recent book published by the Asian Development Bank Institute, Postal Savings—Reaching Everyone in Asia, suggests using the success of postal savings banks in countries like Japan as an example for emerging countries in Asia.
    Read the transcript
    https://bit.ly/2GJC5lD
    Read the report
    https://www.adb.org/publications/postal-savings-reaching-everyone-asia
    About the author
    Anwar Nasution is an economist at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta.
    Know more about ADBI’s work
    https://bit.ly/2sQUSmI
    4 min

About Asia's Developing Future

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ADBI is the think tank of the Asian Development Bank. We conduct policy research and capacity building to drive sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

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