Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Asia's Developing Future
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Asia's Developing Future
By Asian Development Bank InstituteEducation
Asia's Developing Future episodes
- Republic of Korea should consider the impact of the minimum wage before hiking it againThe Republic of Korea should hold off on increasing the minimum wage for a year or so while it considers the effect of past hikes.That’s the recommendation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Randall Jones, head of the OECD’s Japan and Korea desk, explained why at an event hosted by the Asian Development Bank Institute.Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2CJgklqAbout the speakerRandall Jones is head of the Orgnisation for Economic Co-operation’s Japan and Korea deskKnow more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2x0Xukuhttps://bit.ly/2NvNMA84 min
- Global outsourcing comes with environmental costsOutsourcing may mean bigger profits for companies seeking cheaper ways to produce goods and services, but it’s not all good news for the host countries.For the countries in the South that welcome the factories of companies from the wealthier North, outsourcing comes with environmental costs.The People’s Republic of China, considered the world’s factory, is an example. Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, there has been an influx of companies moving their factories to the East Asian country. Attracted by the prospects of lower production costs and cheap labor, companies from the North outsourced production of garments, apparel, toys, footwear, tools, light machinery, electronics, and information technology products, among others, to China.But producing huge amounts of such goods has damaged China’s air, water, and soil, triggering deforestation, desertification, and global warming, while seriously endangering public health. The damage to China’s environment was estimated at $230 billion in 2010, or 3.5% of the nation’s gross domestic product—three times the damage in 2004.India, another country that welcomes outsourcing, has also seen similar damage to its environment. Industrial pollution has caused acid rain, damaging buildings, degrading the environment, and reducing crop yields. Wheat fields near a power plant produced 49% less than those 22 kilometersRead the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2oHcAHpRead the post on ADBI’s bloghttps://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2017/12/international-outsourcing-environmental-costs-and-welfare/About the authorsJai-Young Choi is a professor at the Department of Economics and Finance, Lamar University, Texas.Eden S. H. Yu is vice president and chair professor at the College of Business of Chu-Hai College of Higher Education in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, China.Know more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2oF1PFohttps://bit.ly/2kcLIzHhttps://bit.ly/2ojI31Ohttps://bit.ly/2wp9hZq4 min
- High-speed railway projects need careful study to ensure successFifty years after Japan launched its high-speed railway line, there’s no denying it’s been a game-changer. Run by Japan National Railways, the shinkansen cuts travel time between historical economic centers and connects a network of cities. It’s the spine of one of the most important regional economic belt developments in the world. It’s spurred economic growth in the cities it serves and transformed the country’s economy to what it is today.It’s no surprise other countries are looking at Japan’s experience in running bullet trains to make sure their huge investments will pay off in the long run.High-speed rail hubs are among the most expensive infrastructure in the world, and the challenges and opportunities of setting them up vary from country to country. Almost all countries with bullet trains have reported a dynamic change in urban systems associated with the projects within only a few years of the railway’s inauguration.Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2oIfEmERead the post on ADBI’s bloghttps://bit.ly/2VT2GBnAbout the authorShreyas P. Bharule is an associate at the Asian Development Bank Institute. https://www.adb.org/adbi/about/staff-profiles/shreyas-bharuleKnow more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2Cr4igz4 min
- Will financial liberalization trigger an economic crisis in China?Financial liberalization is typically associated with bringing benefits to emerging economies—cutting red tape, boosting growth, expanding trade, and creating jobs and opportunity. Is it just what China needs as the country’s leaders grapple with how to guide it to the next level?Or would it bring with it added risks to China’s economy? And could those risks trigger a crisis?Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2ok9jxyRead the working paperhttps://www.adb.org/publications/will-financial-liberalization-trigger-first-crisis-prc-lessonsAbout the authorsQin Gou is an associate professor at the School of Finance, Central University of Finance and Economics.Huang Yiping is Jin Guang chair professor of economics and deputy dean of the National School of Development and director of the Institute of Digital Finance of Peking University. Both universities are in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.Know more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2ojI31Ohttps://bit.ly/2wp9hZqhttps://bit.ly/2wpMYCa7 min
- Innovative firms in the People’s Republic of China are redefining manufacturingSince at least the beginning of the 1990s, economists have noted that innovation is indispensable to competitive advantage. But what about for manufacturing? Conventional wisdom has long been hostile to altering proven production methods.But this is changing. Take the example of the People’s Republic of China.Twenty-two years after the government’s 1978 economic reforms, China’s global manufacturing output was one-quarter that of the United States. Eleven years later, China had eclipsed the United States to become the world’s greatest producer.Explanations for this surge highlight abundant labor, state subsidies, and growing local demand. Yet those could be found elsewhere, not just in China. The explanation must go deeper.Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2PGGFDbRead the working paperhttps://www.adb.org/publications/innovation-and-firm-performance-prc-structural-approach-spilloversAbout the authorAnthony Howell is an assistant professor at the School of Economics of Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China.Know more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2wpN0dghttps://bit.ly/2MzkTmJhttps://bit.ly/2ojI31Ohttps://bit.ly/2wp9hZq8 min
- Five global megatrends are forcing electric utilities to rethink the way they do businessElectric utilities around the world are expected to be greatly transformed by deregulation, climate change, the rise of renewable energy, new technologies, declining populations, and changing user needs.The transformation will eventually see the power grid’s integration with industries such as water, gas, transportation, among others, which ultimately could mean better service.A factor driving the changes is the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity and heat production is among the biggest sources of emissions, which is why energy producers have been adding more renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and biomass into their power mix.Technology and changing demographics and user needs will also change utilities. Now that technologies can better track customers’ energy consumption, utilities will be able to predict when it is highest and ensure supply during those times.Utilities’ transformation will come in three waves.Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2Lg4AWGWatch the related videohttps://bit.ly/2ORTd9gAbout the speakerHiroshi Okamoto is executive vice president of Japan’s Tepco Power Grid.Know more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2Bsqbvphttps://bit.ly/2zmmNQr8 min
- Harnessing innovation is the path to growth in developing countriesFor ambitious economies that have recently overcome historical economic obstacles and become stable and vibrant engines of growth, the question now is how to make growth sustainable and inclusive.For the People’s Republic of China and India, innovation is now the key to their economic futures. Yet the legacies of their growth present troubling issues, chiefly environmental degradation. Both economies are also striving to avoid the middle-income trap that can, in the case of China, undermine sustainability or, in the case of India, undermine inclusiveness.Although they share characteristics—a large population and territory, as well as a long history of civilization—they are different in important ways.Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2OXSwvrRead the working paperhttps://www.adb.org/publications/catching-economic-transition-innovation-prc-and-indiaAbout the authorPeilei Fan is an associate professor of urban and regional planning at Michigan State University, Michigan, USA.Know more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2MI2WSchttps://bit.ly/2N5WyBt8 min
- Asia needs better financial monitoring and safeguards as integration increasesAsian economies and financial systems are becoming ever more integrated, but their monitoring has not kept pace and better safeguards are needed. This is especially true for cross-border issues.Peter Morgan, co-chair of research at the Asian Development Bank Institute, says that Europe can provide a valuable guide to developing the necessary institutions in Asia.Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2Mi3WIIRead the bookhttps://www.adb.org/publications/global-shocks-and-new-global-and-regional-financial-architecture-asian-perspectivesRead the related blog posthttps://bit.ly/2Mv6cjPAbout the author and book editorsPeter Morgan is co-chair of research at the Asian Development Bank Institute. He wrote Regional Financial Regulation in Asia, a chapter in Global Shocks and the New Global and Regional Financial Architecture, Asian Perspectives, a new ADBI book, which he edited with ADBI Dean Naoyuki Yoshino and Pradumna B. Rana of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.Know more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2nCIC6Nhttps://bit.ly/2AjebGY7 min
- Solar energy use is growing fast as production costs plungeSolar energy is growing fast as total capacity worldwide surges with the decline of solar-panel prices. It’s cheap and it works.How to further reduce the price of solar panels has become an important topic as solar electricity’s share of the overall energy supply grows globally. Several studies have focused on manufacturing and technological developments as the main reasons behind the most recent drop in global solar-panel prices.But a more recent study done for the Asian Development Bank Institute says that monetary variables, oil prices, and demand for solar panels due to environmental concerns also determine solar-panel prices.Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2waSto2Read the working paperhttps://bit.ly/3s6Nhx7About the authorsFarhad Taghizadeh-Hesary is assistant professor of economics at Waseda University, Tokyo.Naoyuki Yoshino is the dean of ADBI.Yugo Inagaki is an alumnus of Keio University.Know more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2MbErO1https://bit.ly/2MlDL7P4 min
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea could become a market economy in 20 to 25 yearsThe People’s Republic of China’s integration into the global economy and East and West Germany’s reunification show the Democratic People's Republic of Korea — or the DPRK — how it might become a market economy within 20 to 25 years.Naoyuki Yoshino, dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute, told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan that the DPRK could also look to the success of other Asian countries in using domestic savings to kick-start growth. Other key ingredients for a successful transition would be infrastructure development, education and training, as well as the promotion of student and worker exchanges between the DPRK and other countries.The country could start with a postal savings network similar to those used in Japan and China, which would help start the process of building a financial system. From that, insurance and pension funds could be developed. The money that was deposited could be used for economic development.Read the transcripthttps://bit.ly/2vK8AZHAbout the speakerNaoyuki Yoshino is dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute.Know more about ADBI’s workhttps://bit.ly/2vIYRmwhttps://bit.ly/2vIZ3lK8 min
About Asia's Developing Future
From the publisher's feed
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.
More shows like Asia's Developing Future
Interesting Times
7,129 Listeners