Issues facing the especially disadvantaged economies of the ESCAP region

A large number of the economies in the ESCAP region remain weak and fragile after decades of development effort, contrasting sharply with the region’s general image as the most economically dynamic and robust in the world. They have neither shared in the dynamism of the region' s more successful economies nor attained a base strong enough to be able to absorb successfully the exogenous shocks to which they are frequently subjected. Their problems are thus both short- and long-term in nature. As causal processes, the shortand long-term factors work to reinforce each other to keep these economies in a perpetual state of low performance and underdevelopment. Cyclone damage as a short-term exogenous shock, for example, can cause years of delay in implementing long-term development programmes. The absence of a viable resource and infrastructural base, in turn, not only intensifies such damage but also prolongs the restoration.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Reduced Inequalities