Asia's Developing Future

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the world’s cities. It has also prompted rethinking about the role of cities and the future of urbanization.

In this podcast, urban development expert Tsuyoshi Hashimoto discusses the post-pandemic outlook for Asia’s cities and the implications for sustainable and inclusive growth in the region.

His remarks are based on research presented during a recent ADBI virtual policy dialogue on rethinking the role of cities and urban function.

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https://adbi.me/3c2ROue

Spanning from the People’s Republic of China through Central Asian countries along the Caspian Sea to Europe, the Trans-Caspian Corridor is an increasingly important channel for transportation and cross-border trade.

In this podcast, ADBI’s Dina Azhgaliyeva, Yelena Kalyuzhnova of the University of Reading, and Richard Pomfret of the University of Adelaide describe how improved infrastructure development within the corridor could drive post-COVID-19 trade and inclusive economic opportunities. They also explain how this could be achieved.

The discussion draws upon the new ADBI Press book Unlocking Transport Connectivity in the Trans-Caspian Corridor which they coauthored.

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https://adbi.me/3nzF6bF

Download the book for free

https://adbi.me/3aUPaX9

How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted the Asian economy and what can the region’s policy makers do to advance economic recovery?

In this podcast, ADBI Research Fellow John Beirne addresses these fundamental questions, describing new research that underscores the importance of building longer-term resilience and sustainability in Asia and possible ways forward.

The discussion draws upon his new coedited book COVID-19 Impacts and Policy Options: An Asian Perspective, the inaugural entry in the ADBI Series on Asian and Pacific Sustainable Development, Beirne coedited the book with Tetsushi Sonobe, ADBI Dean, and Peter J. Morgan, ADBI Vice-Chair of Research.

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https://adbi.me/3jdXcyC

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COVID-19 Impacts and Policy Options: An Asian Perspective

https://adbi.me/3ACY6L1

Like other emerging markets in Asia, Central Asia faces a significant need for infrastructure development to support onward growth but a comparable shortfall in project financing and implementation capacity.

In this podcast, ADBI’s Dina Azhgaliyeva and Ranjeeta Mishra, and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute’s Kamalbek Karymshakov explain the importance of bridging these infrastructure gaps for firm performance and trade in Central Asia. They also describe how policy lessons and solutions here can be applied to other parts of developing Asia.

The discussion draws upon the ADBI working paper entitled, Infrastructure and Firm Performance in CAREC Countries: Cross-Sectional Evidence at the Firm Level.

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https://adbi.me/3EVEcOH

Harmonizing intellectual property regimes could boost innovation in Asia, but how feasible is it?

What steps could Asia take to enhance intellectual property protection and what impact could it have on the future of innovation development in the region?

In this podcast, the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Peter Fowler explains the link between intellectual property rights and growth, the status of intellectual property protection and enforcement in Asia, and the path to harmonization that boost trade and competition in a globalized, digitally-driven marketplace.

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https://adbi.me/3loEqoK

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ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar: United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Peter Fowler on IP Protection and Enforcement for Trade, Competition, and Innovation in Asia and the Pacific

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COVID-19 recovery in developing Asia could follow a traditional growth path that relies on carbon- and resource-intensive production. By contrast, the transition to a circular economy could deliver greener and more enduring post-pandemic growth in the region.

In this podcast, ADBI’s Linda Arthur and Derek Hondo, describe the prospects for achieving such a breakthrough and associated principles and policy priorities.

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https://adbi.me/3kIbiZj

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Virtual Conference on Circular Economy in Emerging Markets: Unlocking the Potential for Green Recovery in Developing Asia

https://adbi.me/2WCCGPK

The burden of water collection and distribution often disproportionately falls on the shoulders of women in Asia’s developing economies, where gaps in water infrastructure and hygiene persist and are particularly acute at a household level.

In this podcast, Ashish Sedai of Colorado State University describes clean water access challenges in the region, how the adoption of piped water in households in India is helping to increase women's labor force participation, and the impact gender-balanced household income can have on water service quality and sustainable development.

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https://adbi.me/2XqEvQo

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Who Benefits from Piped Water in the House? Empirical Evidence from a Gendered Analysis in India

https://adbi.me/3wy1sgu

Developing Asia will require around $30 trillion in infrastructure investment through 2030, according to the Asian Development Bank. But how has COVID-19 affected the infrastructure landscape and what role can the sector play in pandemic recovery across the region?

In this podcast, New Zealand Infrastructure Commission Board Chair Alan Bollard describes post-pandemic infrastructure development conditions and impacts in Asia and the Pacific. He also addresses onward project financing, climate change, and sustainability considerations.

The discussion draws on an ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar with Dr Bollard, who served as Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor during the Global Financial Crisis and its aftermath as well as Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat in Singapore from 2013 to 2018.

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https://adbi.me/2VfIu1a

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ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar: New Zealand Infrastructure Commission Board Chair Alan Bollard on the Role of Infrastructure in COVID-19 Recovery

https://adbi.me/3qBoO3o

With COVID-19 lockdowns, quarantine requirements, and work from home arrangements still prevalent, how will the pandemic impact the future of public transport and what lessons can policy makers in Asia learn from global experiences within the sector?

In this podcast, we take a look at what’s happening outside the region with Greg Marsden of the University of Leeds Institute of Transport Studies, who describes travel developments in the United Kingdom. He details COVID-19 era working pattern shifts, commuter behavior, and the implications for the economics of public transport and public policy, including key takeaways for Asia’s cities.

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https://bit.ly/3rccB5v

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ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar: Greg Marsden on COVID-19 Era Travel Behavior and its Policy Implications in the United Kingdom

https://bit.ly/3hK7CWu

Central Asia remains highly dependent on polluting solid fuels despite significantly increasing access to cleaner alternatives in the region.

In this podcast, ADBI’s Dina Azhgaliyeva and Ranjeeta Mishra, and CAREC Institute’s Kamalbek Karymshakov explain the implications of this gap, and what policy makers can do about it moving forward.

The discussion draws upon their recent article in the Journal of Environmental Management entitled, “Why energy access is not enough for choosing clean cooking fuels” and ADBI working paper entitled, “What determines coal consumption for heating residential space in Central Asia.”

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https://bit.ly/2TxU9aE

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Why Is Energy Access Not Enough for Choosing Clean Cooking Fuels? Sustainable Development Goals and Beyond

https://bit.ly/3gtArpF

What determines coal consumption for heating residential space in Central Asia

https://bit.ly/2UbPXha