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ADBI News
2013 Volume 7 Number 4
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ANNUAL CONFERENCE
ADB President Takehiko Nakao stressed that innovation and regional integration are crucial to Asias long-term growth.
16th ADBI Annual Conference on 27 November took stock of developments in the role of innovation for inclusive growth and integration in the Asia and Pacific region. ADB President Takehiko Nakao, who gave the opening remarks, emphasized innovation, integration, and inclusion as key to lasting and sustainable growth in Asia. In his closing remarks, ADBI Dean Masahiro Kawai underscored the potential for innovation to drive growth in Asia. The conference focused on the following key issues: (i) importance of innovation on sustainable growth in Asia; (ii) evolution of inclusive growth in Asia; (iii) and developments in regional integration, trade and finance, and regulation and coordination. Five years after the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis Asia continues to face the challenge of achieving sustainable and inclusive growth. The US and Europe growth rates look likely to remain subdued for some years to come, which underlines the need for greater trade integration within Asia to take advantage of the growing regional market. To sustain growth, Asia needs to enhance its innovative capacity. Greater research and development, and a better learning environment in Asia, will help improve education, healthcare,
The
In this issue
Realizing an Innovative, Inclusive, and Integrated Asia 12 The Future of the World Trading System: An Asian Perspective 2 ADBI in the News 2 Low-Carbon Green Growth in South and Central Asia 3 Transforming Industrial Clusters Into Eco-friendly Economic Zones 3 Abenomics: Controversy, Progress, and Prospects 4 International Monetary System Reform 4 Reshaping Europes Financial System 5 Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Asia 5 Central Asias Participation in Global Supply Chains Key to Growth 6 Recent Publications 6 Upcoming Events 7 Recent Working Papers 7 Sri Lankan Journalist Wins 2013 DAJA Competition 8
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clean energy, and ultimately overall productivity in the region. This conference produced a number of research papers, which will be considered for inclusion in
SYMPOSIUM
concern over both the increasing Asian noodle bowl of free trade agreements and the welfare of small economies less well-integrated into the FTA landscape. He urged further market-friendly policies to support supply chain trade among Asian economies, including a consolidation of existing FTAs. ADBI Research Fellow Matthias Helble, who moderated the session, argued that Asias outward oriented economic policies and commitment to regional and multilateral trade liberalization had greatly contributed to the regions prosperity. He stressed that in the years to come it will be crucial to limit the risks that Asias regional trade agreements carry, especially the risk that mega-regional trade deals will divide the region. Instead, he called for a more integrated and open Asia, where regional cooperation is inclusive and goes well beyond the realm of trade.
For more information on this event, please visit: www.adbi.org/event/6026.future.world.trading.system.asia/. To download a copy of The Future of the World Trading System: Asian Perspectives, please visit: www.adbi.org/book/2013/06/14/5746.future.world.trading. system/.
ADBI Research Fellow Matthias Helble (far left) and ADBI Research Director Ganeshan Wignaraja (far right) discuss the future of the world trading system on the sidelines of the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
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WORKSHOP
The workshop also recognized the immediate need for regional cooperation to disseminate low-carbon technologies and finance them. They also developed a roadmap to act together on key common issues.
For more information on this event, please visit: www.adbi.org/event/5898.policies.practices.low.carbon. green.growth.asia/?sectionID=35. To download a copy of the book Low-Carbon Green Growth in Asia: Policies and Practices, please visit: www.adbi.org/book/2013/06/28/5773.low.carbon.green.growt h.asia.policies.practices.
WORKSHOP
Tatiana Gallego-Lizon, ADB Principal Urban Development Specialist, Dean Masahiro Kawai, and CBT Specialist Venkatachalam Anbumozhi discuss the socio-economic benets of eco-industrial clusters.
concentrations of small and medium-sized enterprises that draw productive advantages from their mutual proximity and connections. These industrial clusters could be transformed into eco-industrial clusters by establishing inter-firm networks to share resources in an efficient way. ADBI, with the support of CITYNET and Kawasaki city, hosted the training course Regional Workshop on Eco-Industrial Clusters on 24 December to instruct mayors and senior officials on the concepts and practicalities of transforming industrial clusters into successful eco-friendly economic zones. The program, through technical presentations, field visits and group discussions, aimed to improve the capacity of policymakers to deliver integrated environmental and economic planning in their respective jurisdictions.
For more information on this workshop, please visit: www.adbi.org/event/5978.workshop.eco.industrial.clusters/.
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DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER
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necessary economic conditions to support yuan internationalization, but needs to go a step further. The yen is convertible, but has not moved above a certain threshold. Both currencies role can be expanded as a reserve currency when supplemented by a few selective Asian currencies for current account transaction settlements in Asia.
A currency arrangement among Asian countries could reduce the burden of large reserves holdings
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includes private recapitalization of weak banks and a single resolution mechanism, Mr. Wolff said European banks remain reluctant to lend to each other, leading to very different credit conditions across countries and inhibiting opportunities for economic growth in the region. As negotiations on measures to improve the European financial system continue, policymakers need to be aware that restructuring decisions today will undermine future financial stability if they are made without allowing for sensible cross-border mergers, and that such decisions will have to be accompanied by serious efforts to develop capital markets to ensure that the monetary union is sound in the medium term.
For more information on this seminar, please visit: www.adbi.org/event/5901.recent.dev.eu.neglected.side.bu/.
DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER
Pacific region. He concluded that the success of regional cooperation and integration in Asia will be mutually beneficial to the region and the rest of the world.
For more information on this seminar, please visit: www.adbi.org/event/6009.nag.distinguished.speaker/.
from an Asian perspective are delivered daily to your inbox. To learn more about e-newsline and to subscribe, please visit: www.adbi.org/e-newsline/. 5
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WORKSHOP
Keio University Professor Fukunari Kimura, ADBI CBT Director Yuqing Xing, and Tongji University Professor Sidong Zhang assess the role of global supply chains and production networks in the economic development of Central Asia.
Central Asia has emerged as an important hub for global integration. Although trade among the Central Asian economies is small, diverse resources and many economic commonalities provide an opportunity for trade diversification and specialization, which can fundamentally change trade patterns in many Central Asian countries and lead to paradigm shifts in development policies. One such force is global supply chains (GSC) and production networks (GPN). To assess the basic concepts of GSC and GPN and their roles in formulating development strategies in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region, a workshop on Central Asias Participation in Global Supply Chains and Its Implications to Development Policies was
organized by ADBI and the CAREC Institute on 1214 November. The key outputs of the workshop included the sharing of best regulatory practices among Asian developing countries for integrating domestic industries with GSC and GPN, and policy recommendations for promoting GSC and GPN. Officials from the policy and regulatory agencies in CAREC countries attended the workshop. CAREC countries include Azerbaijan, the Peoples Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
For more information on this workshop, please visit: www.adbi.org/event/5918.central.asia.participation.gsc.dev. policies/.
Recent Publications
Eco-Industrial Clusters: A Prototype Training Manual
Eco-industrial clusters are a geographic concentration of interconnected industries in a specialized field that cooperate with each other to efficiently share resources and information. Industrial clusters have emerged as a central idea for innovation and competiveness. As more efforts are made to foster eco-restructuring in rapidly industrializing Asia, the need to understand and train on the sustainability potential of these clusters has become urgent. This training manual is a pioneering effort to fill that need.
To download a copy of this manual, please visit: www.adbi.org/book/2013/12/31/6082.eco.industrial.clusters/.
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Upcoming Events
The 4th ADBI-OECD-ILO Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia: Building Human Capital across Borders (Tokyo) The goal of this roundtable is to better understand how to improve national policies on cross-border migration in Asia. Public-Private Partnership in Infrastructure Development: Basics for Negotiation (Tokyo) This workshop aims to develop the capacity of civil servants in Asia in designing, implementing, and managing public-private partnership programs and projects. Role of Microfinance Programs in Promoting Financial Inclusion: Findings from Field Studies in India and Pakistan (Tokyo) This seminar will present findings on two research studies on the contribution of microfinance programs to financial inclusion goals in India and Pakistan.
Exchange Rate Policy and Regional Trade Agreements: A Case of Conflicted Interests?
Authors: Richard Pomfret and Victor Pontines
This paper highlights the conflicting interests of countriesto stabilize exchange rates or to keep the option of exchange rate depreciation in order to maintain competitiveness of domestic tradable producers. With deepening integration in East Asia, the desire for exchange rate stability will eventually outweigh the desire to maintain a protectionist tool. How extensive the pressures will be in East Asia will depend on how many countries desire to be in the more integrated economic area.
Read Working Paper 436 at www.adbi.org/preview/working-paper/ 2013/10/08/5909.exchange.rate.policy.trade.agreements/.
Supply Chains and Credit-Market Shocks: Some Implications for Emerging Markets
Author: Yothin Jinjarak
Focusing on the adjustment of working-capital financing, this paper finds two pieces of supporting evidence from international firm-level panel data covering the period 2002 to 2012. First, for industries where investment in the input supplier-customer relationship is large, firms are more exposed to credit-market shocks. Measures of global credit-market shocks are negatively associated with trade receivables, trade payables, and inventories, conditional on contract intensity in the industries where firms operate. And second, firms in emerging markets are more vulnerable to credit-market shocks than are firms in developed countries.
Read Working Paper 443 at www.adbi.org/preview/working-paper/ 2013/11/06/5979.supply.chains.credit.market.shocks/.
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AWARDS
Rowley (Business Times, Singapore), Monzurul Huq (Prothorn Alo, Bangladesh), and Yoshio Murakami (International New York Times, Japan). Nineteen finalists from 11 developing countries in the Asia and Pacific region attended a two-day workshop in Tokyo organized by ADBI. The program culminated in the awards ceremony on 21 November at the Tokai University Club. The theme of DAJA 2013 was Regionalism in Asia versus Globalization. The forum provided selected journalists from ADB developing member countries with the opportunity to discuss the emergence of regional trade agreements influencing development in Asia. DAJA was established by ADBI in 2004 to build capacity among journalists working on key development issues. The annual awards honor the work and contributions of journalists engaging in the dissemination of knowledge related to poverty reduction and other areas that support the long-term growth in the Asia and Pacific region.
For more information on this event, please visit: www.adbi.org/event/5983.daja.awards.2013/.
Shamindra Kulamannage receives the 2013 Development Journalist of the Year Award from Dean Masahiro Kawai and Anthony Rowley.
ADBI News
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ADBI News reports quarterly on the activities of the Asian Development Bank Institute. The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute or the Asian Development Bank. Materials may be reprinted with credit given to ADBI News. To send comments or to request a free subscription, e-mail adbinews@adbi.org; fax a message to +81-3-3593-5571; or write to ADBI News, Kasumigaseki Building 8F, 3-2-5, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6008, Japan. For the web version, go to www.adbi.org/newsletter/.