Regulatory Reforms for Improving the Business Environment in Selected Asian Economies - How Monitoring and Comparative Benchmarking Can Provide Incentive for Reform

The determinants of a business friendly environment that underpin rapid and sustained economic growth include the macroeconomic and financial market environments, infrastructure, labor market skills and efficiency, and governance and institutions. Obtaining licenses and credit to start a business, finding and managing labor, ensuring investor protection, enforcing contracts, paying taxes, trading across borders, and identifying the requirements for closing a business are all important factors in assessing the operating climate for doing business. By comparative benchmarking, this paper examines these determinants in six developing Asian economies—the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam—and compares them with similar indicators for five benchmark economies—the newly industrialized economies (NIEs) of Hong Kong, China; the Republic of Korea; and Singapore; and the developed economies of Japan and the United States. This paper also identifies areas where reform has taken place and where further efforts are needed, such as addressing policy uncertainties, the quality of governance and legal and institutional frameworks, and inadequate regulatory capacity. Attending to these shortcomings will require policymakers to implement structural reforms that improve efficiency and competitiveness by (i) minimizing unnecessary regulatory barriers in business activities, (ii) encouraging private incentives and market discipline, (iii) creating a level playing field across all sectors, and (iv) fostering competition to upgrade institutional capacity. This paper argues that the regular monitoring of relevant indicators and comparative benchmarking can (i) provide important incentive structures that encourage the sharing and implementation of good practices through peer pressure mechanisms and (ii) serve as a starting point for dialogue between government and the private sector on reform priorities that can improve the business environment.Business environment; investment; Asia; benchmarking

Roads for Asian Integration: Measuring ADB's Contribution to the Asian Highway Network

Against the backdrop of growing momentum for regional cooperation and integration (RCI) in Asia, this paper examines the link between regional roads and Asian Development Bank (ADB) support between 1966 and 2008. The novel methodology used in this paper includes an Asia-wide definition of regional roads that fall on the Asian Highway (AH) network. The AH network is a system of about 140,000 kilometers (km) of standardized roads crisscrossing many Asian countries and with linkages to Europe. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) conducts research on Asian roads and works with member countries to identify financing sources for AH network development. In relation to assessing ADB's contribution to regional roads, three tasks are attempted in this paper: (i) an identification of ADB-financed regional roads and other kinds of roads in ADB's portfolio, (ii) an estimation of ADB's contribution to the AH network, and (iii) the development of a map where ADB’s contribution to regional road construction and infrastructure can be easily juxtaposed with the AH network. The paper finds that regional highways have been a notable and growing part of ADB's road portfolio since the 1990s, particularly in ADB’s subregional programs such as the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programs. It also finds that ADB road investment has made a significant contribution to the AH network, representing about two thirds of the network’s core roads. While parts of the AH network have been completed, substantial gaps still exist, including an estimated $43.8 billion required for priority projects. As part of its mandate to promote better integration of Asian infrastructure, ADB may have a role to play in addressing the financing, planning, and institutional development of the AH network. Furthermore, strengthened coordination among ADB, UNESCAP, and other actors can enhance both the AH network and the process of regional road development in Asia.Asian highway; regional roads; regional cooperation; infrastructure development; multilateral development bank

Cambodia tomorrow : development research priorities for a middle income country - a synthesis of the themes and messages from the 2013 development research forum

The Cambodia Development Research Forum (DRF) is a partnership of leading academic, research, and policy institutions in Cambodia. This synthesis report provides a summary of the key messages from more than 30 research papers presented at the Symposium. The papers address economic growth and issues in both public and private sectors. The pace of industrial diversification and economic modernisation will depend on how well the country can provide cost-effective infrastructure, a business-friendly investment climate, quality education and healthcare, and a socioeconomic environment conducive to gender equality and women’s empowerment

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

BOND MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN EAST ASIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

ISSN 1655-5252 The views expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank. ERD Working Paper No. 3

Two thousand and fourteen [2014] Annual Symposium : Reflections on Priorities for Development Policy Research in Cambodia

This report summarises the key messages of 30 presentations with implications for research policy and practice under six key themes: economy, agriculture, natural resources, health, education and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The private sector, non-governmental organisations, government agencies, and research institutions contribute critical reflections upon collaborative research that is important to Cambodia’s development. To avoid long-term dependency on overseas skilled personnel, Cambodia needs to be committed to reforming its education system so that it can build a skilled and capable domestic workforce

Methodologies for Regional Programs and Projects: Strategy and Programming

This presentation discusses the Asian Development Bank's (ADB's) Regional Cooperation and Integration (RCI) Strategy. The RCI strategy includes a results-based monitoring framework to monitor progress in each pillar. The framework identifies broad outcomes to be achieved, performance monitoring indicators, key activities and initiatives, and risks and assumptions. While ADB continuously strives to mainstream RCI in Country Partnership Strategies (CSPs), there is much room for improvement.Investment, Globalization & Regionalization, SEMINAR ON INSTITUTIONS FOR REGIONALISM, regional integration & globalization, ADB, Asia

ADB's Role in Asian Integration: Recent Experiences and Future Challenges

The following presentation provides an overview of the Asian Development Bank support for regional integration since 1966. It discusses the ADB's Regional Cooperation and Integration (RCI) mission and strategy, the sectors and projects suitable for regional investments, the differences between national and regional projects from an operational perspective, the role of the ADB in fostering regional integration and finally, future challenges of Asian Integration. This presentation was prepared for the Inter-American Development Bank's Technical Seminar "The Quest for the Missing Links" Initiatives for Regional and Global Integration" held in Washington, D.C. on February 1st-2nd, 2010.Globalization & Regionalization, The Quest for the Missing Links IDB Technical Seminar, Asia and integration, Asian Development Bank, regional cooperation and integration