ADB has raised its economic forecast for developing economies in Asia and the Pacific, after robust domestic demand drove higher-than-expected growth in the People’s Republic of China and India. This edition of the ADO also looks at downside risks to the outlook. These include persistently elevated interest rates in advanced economies, and potential supply disruptions caused by the El Niño weather pattern or the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which could rekindle inflation.
This report explores the benefits of Asia and the Pacific’s coral reefs and outlines the myriad risks they face from climate change, pollution, and development. It assesses how nature-positive investments, including innovative financing products such as catastrophe bonds and blue carbon credits, can help finance their protection and restoration.
This report analyzes tourism in Asia and the Pacific as a services export industry, looks into the sector's current state and vulnerabilities, and shares how free trade agreements, incentives, and multilateral measures can encourage growth. It presents recommendations on improving infrastructure, developing less well-known destinations, and using technology to boost international arrivals.
This report considers four key infrastructure investment sectors and sets out ways to evaluate gender-enhanced project outcomes. It outlines theories of change and indicators designed to enable gender-inclusive infrastructure investment in urban development, transport, energy, and water, sanitation, and hygiene.
This publication analyzes the risks of digital transformation and shows how context-aware and integrated risk management can advance the digitally resilient development projects needed to build a more sustainable and equitable future. It outlines ADB’s digital risk assessment tools, looks at the role of development partners, and considers issues including cybersecurity, third-party digital risk management, and the ethical risks of artificial intelligence.
This edition of the Pacific Economic Monitor presents the region’s experiences in domestic resource mobilization (DRM), explores digital transformation in tax administration, and discusses tourism, an important sector in many Pacific economies that may have a role to play in contributing to DRM.
This publication is designed to help tax analysts estimate revenue losses from tax expenditures and tax incentives. It discusses tax expenditure definitions, issues related to benchmarking and building an inventory of tax expenditures, and estimation methodologies to show how to calculate revenues forgone when a tax concession is granted.
This report analyzes the online learning experiences of higher education students in six Asian countries during the pandemic to illustrate how to provide technical and learning support, narrow the digital divide, and direct future policy. It considers funding for online education, underscores the challenges for low-income students, and sets out how to fill the skills and training gap to offer equal access to better education.
This publication explores how small-scale agriculture operations with limited resources can control pollution and manage health and safety issues. It compares major pollution control technologies, provides analysis and recommendations on their suitability for small-scale operations, and offers insights into how environmental standards support environmental improvement.
