Toward a Sustainable Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific

Despite remarkable growth during the last decade, Asia and the Pacific still faces extensive basic infrastructure needs. Furthermore, to cope up with the reduced export demand from advanced economies arising out of the ongoing financial crisis, the region needs to enhance its connectivity through developing transport infrastructure at the national and regional level to rebalance its growth towards regional demand through enhancing intraregional trade. However, building massive transport infrastructure will have profound implications on environment and climate change at the national, regional and global levels as well as on scarce energy resources. This paper presents the needs and benefits of transport connectivity and financing requirement of Asian economies during 2010-2020; and analyzes the major challenges and prospects in developing sustainable transport connectivity. Finally, the paper provides policy recommendations on what the region can do to meet these challenges.sustainable transport, infrastructure, connectivity, financing infrastructure, environment and climate change, Asia and the Pacific

Ocean Energy in Belgium - 2019

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Institutions for Asian Connectivity

To make Asia more economically sustainable and resilient against external shocks, regional economies need to be rebalanced toward regional demand- and trade-driven growth through increased regional connectivity. The effectiveness of connectivity depends on the quality of hard and soft infrastructure. Of particular importance in terms of soft infrastructure which makes hard infrastructure work are the facilitating institutions that support connectivity through appropriate policies, reforms, systems, and procedures and through promoting effective coordination and cooperation. Asia has many overlapping subregional institutions involved in national and regional energy, transport, and telecommunications infrastructure connectivity. However, these institutions are characterized as being less effective, informal, and lacking a clear and binding system of rules and policies. This paper draws linkages between connectivity, growth and development, governance, and institutions. It details the benefits the region could achieve by addressing needed connectivity enhancements and the connectivity and financing challenges it faces. In addition, it presents various institutional options for regional infrastructure financing. To build seamless Asian connectivity, Asia needs an effective, formal, and rules-based institutional framework. The paper presents a new institutional framework together with the organizational structures of two new regional institutional mechanisms, namely the Pan-Asian Infrastructure Forum and the Asian Infrastructure Fund.asian infrastructure financing; asian infrastructure connectivity; asian institutions

The prospects for African urban economies

Cities generally function as sources of economic development and human progress. One of the puzzles about Africa's urbanization is that it has not been accompanied by greater economic dynamism. The paper considers the distinctive development trajectory of African urban economies. It considers the applicability of the argument that cities are drivers of economic growth, and the idea that cities develop more complex, higher-value functions over time. It examines the recent revival of African economies, and asks whether the fashionable idea of enhanced international integration through cross-border collaboration might facilitate greater urban prosperity