No Poverty

This paper presents the results from using the Digital and Sustainable Regional Integration Index version 1 (DigiSRII 1.0) framework of ESCAP (2020b) to uncover digital economy integration trends across the Asia-Pacific region. The results show that Asia and the Pacific has made good progress with regard to conventional digital economy integration, especially because of the significant improvements in the digital economy infrastructure and liberalization of trade of information and communications technology (ICT) goods. However, capacity-building of the workforce and investment in infrastructure are required to bridge the digitalization gaps among the digitalized economies in the region. Moreover, the fairly low regulatory uniformity among regional economies further highlights the importance of regional regulatory harmonization in order to foster regional trade in digitally enabled goods and services. From a sustainable development perspective, inclusivity and equity of access to digitalization and required infrastructure remain key challenges. While Internet penetration in the region has been rising, female participation in the digital economy has remained relatively low in general and extremely low in lowincome economies. In addition, there is room to enhance cybersecurity in most Asia-Pacific economies. Regional digital policies should focus on harmonizing data protection protocols and building a safer network of servers that would promote economic activity and enable sensitive matters to be conducted online. Fostering a more inclusive digital transformation may considerably boost network-effects and accelerate the transition to a competitive and sustainable regional digital economy.

Traditionally, sovereign debt problems of developing countries have been discussed mostly at institutions representing the creditors, such as the Paris Club, and at the International Monetary Fund, but they have also been addressed by the United Nations, mostly in the context of its international conferences on financing for development. Although the views of the United Nations on debt are not widely known, they are highly relevant in the post-COVID-19 context, as inflationary pressures could lead to tightened global financial conditions and exacerbate debt vulnerabilities in developing countries. The present paper provides an overview of sovereign debt restructurings from the 1980s, a summary of the debt situation of Asia and the Pacific as a case study and a review of the views of United Nations on debt issues. It also offers suggestions to improve the global debt architecture based on such views by highlighting the importance of linking debt sustainability with sustainable development in debt restructuring workouts and through a hub-and-spoke institutional arrangement to disseminate prudential debt management practices and promote transparency.

The present paper contains a discussion on how central banks and financial supervisory authorities can foster green development in Asia and the Pacific. It is based on the argument that while fiscal policy has received much attention, central banks and financial supervisory authorities can certainly play a complementary role in accelerating the transition towards low-carbon, climate-resilient economies. Indeed, these institutions are obliged to act as inaction could compromise their mandate to maintain economic and price stability given that climate change poses an emerging risk to the financial system. The first point made in the paper is that approximately half of the Asia-Pacific central banks either have sustainability-oriented mandates or have begun to integrate climate issues into their policy conduct. The following discussion points out that while the region remains at the early stage of implementing green monetary and financial policies, some central banks and financial supervisory authorities are at the forefront in deploying monetary policy tools, prudential measures and broader initiatives to support green finance. To further promote green central banking, having clear guiding principles, effective communication and adequate technical capacity to customize the green approach is critical. Moving forward, these institutions should be mindful of possible unintended, adverse impacts of sustainable central banking, such as interfering with market neutrality, supporting green washing and crowding out green private investments.

For a central bank to be successful in regulating the financial sector, it must have relevant and pragmatic policies. It should ensure that all financial institutions, including banks, comply with prudential and management norms. Both internal and external factors are making it difficult for Bangladesh Bank to monitor and regulate the financial sector, especially banks. Bangladesh Bank has to move away from its present conventional stance towards a heterogeneous, unconventional and implementable approach. It must strike a balance showing an appropriate professional stance while avoiding the negativity of politically motivated reforms in a highly technical domain.

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) has gained much attention among central banks, as it could potentially improve efficiency, inclusion and innovation in the financial system. The present paper contains a review of the CBDC journey of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), from the guiding principles, to test results of the CBDC prototypes and challenges going forward. It provides insights with regard to the introduction of CBDC into the economy, as well as how a public institution such as a central bank can go about exploring cutting-edge technologies for use in public policy.

For decades the Asia-Pacific region has been driving global economic growth despite occasional setbacks, such as the collapse of economies in Central Asia immediately following the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis. Most of the countries in the region have also done well in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In fact, the attainment of the single most critical MDG – halving the global poverty rate – was due to rapid declines in extreme poverty in the region.

Governments that aim to adjust their fiscal policies to reduce inequality can look to several analytical tools that are being produced in Asia-Pacific countries, including commitment to equity studies and public expenditure reviews. The present paper contains a review of studies for 12 Asia-Pacific countries. Consistent with previous research on the impact of fiscal policies on inequality, the findings of the review show that policies such as targeted direct transfers, education spending and tax policies that favour direct instead of indirect taxes are most effective at inequality reduction.

Professor Clement Allan Tisdell was a distinguished academic and an unrelenting prodigious researcher. Above all, he was a friend and a wonderful human being. He died on 14 July 2022 at the age of 82. Born on 18 November 1939 near the New South Wales country town of Taree in Australia, Tisdell was the oldest of ten children (five boys and five girls) in a highly cohesive and supportive family. He had a very humble upbringing during which he attained an intimate familiarity with rural life, the countryside and nature, and a strong sense of belonging to the local community (Lodewijks, 2007), which continued to the very end of his life. No accolade could distract him from this path of simplicity and common sense.

For many infectious diseases with a high burden in the Asia-Pacific region, there are no licensed, highly effective vaccines. In addition, for neglected infectious diseases in the region, the existing vaccines have limitations. One reason behind the lack of vaccines is a financing gap, especially for late-stage trials. We estimate that the annual financing gap for vaccine research and development (R&D) for neglected diseases is approximately $2 billion and the annual gap for vaccine R&D for emerging infectious diseases is approximately $50 million-170 million. In this paper, a variety of possible mechanisms to mobilize financing for vaccine R&D in the region are presented.