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2022 : Leaving no one behind : Myanmar country brief
No full textLeaving No One Behind (LNOB) tool helps discover how different circumstances interact to create unequal access to basic opportunities in Asia and the Pacific. The LNOB country brief for Myanmar provides insights into which groups are further ahead and further behind in various SDG indicators and where the biggest gaps are found in terms of access to opportunities or prevalence of barriers between the furthest behind and the furthest ahead groups in Myanmar. </p
Asia-Pacific sustainable development journal. Vol. 28, No. 2, December 2021
No full textThe Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Journal is is based on recognition of the interconnected and multidisciplinary nature of sustainable development. Published twice a year by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, it aims to stimulate debate and enrich research in the formulation of policy in the Asia-Pacific region towards the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Household consumption expenditure in Thailand during the first COVID-19 lockdown
Oudom Hean and Nattanicha Chairassamee
Estimating the effects of Internet exchange points on fixed-broadband speed and latency
Siope Vakataki ‘Ofa
Securing green development: Can Asia-Pacific central banks and financial supervisory authorities do more?
Xiang-li Lim and Vatcharin Sirimaneetham
Digital economy integration in Asia and the Pacific: insights from DigiSRII 1.0
Witada Anukoonwattaka, Pedro Romao, Preety Bhogal, Thomas Bentze, Richard S. Lobo and Arushi Vaishnav
Addressing sovereign debt challenges in the era of COVID-19 and beyond: the role of the United Nations
Alberto Isgut<li>Oudom Hean and Nattanicha Chairassamee - Household consumption expenditure in Thailand during the first COVID-19 lockdown ... 1<li>Siope Vakataki - ‘Ofa Estimating the effects of Internet exchange points on fixed-broadband speed and latency ... 39<li>Xiang-li Lim and Vatcharin Sirimaneetham - Securing green development: Can AsiaPacific central banks and financial supervisory authorities do more? ... 69<li>Witada Anukoonwattaka, Pedro Romao, Preety Bhogal, Thomas Bentze, Richard S. Lobo and Arushi Vaishnav - Digital economy integration in Asia and the Pacific: insights from DigiSRII 1.0 ... 113<li>Alberto Isgut - Addressing sovereign debt challenges in the era of COVID-19 and beyond: the role of the United Nations ... 149</p
MSME access to finance : the role of digital payments
Get PDFThis report was commissioned by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and it was prepared by Douglas Arner, Sijuade Animashaun, Kuzi Charamba, and Yixiao Cai. The report was funded by a joint project implemented by UNCTAD, UNDESA and the UN regional commissions entitled “Global Initiative Towards the post-Covid-19 Resurgence of the MSME Sector.” The project aimed at building capacities of governments, financial institutions, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to facilitate the latter’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. In the context of this project, ESCAP prepared training materials on various areas related to MSME financing.This paper aims to examine how digitalisation, particularly digital payments innovations and innovative payment initiatives, such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), can play a pivotal role in fostering micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) access to finance. Around the globe, there is an increasing focus on ways to exploit the potential of emerging digital financial technologies, including digital payments, to accelerate MSME access to finance and achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This interplay between digital payments innovations, SDGs, and MSME financial inclusion is in line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (United Nations, 2015), the Secretary-General’s Strategy for Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2018 – 2021) (United Nations, 2018), and the report of the Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) entitled “People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future” (UN Secretary-General's Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals, 2020). Yet, achieving these envisaged benefits will require thoughtful consideration and management of various systemic risks and impacts across jurisdictions and governance levels
How to design inclusive old age pension systems in Asia and the Pacific
Get PDFPension schemes protect older persons and their families facing barriers to earning an income in old age, as well as potential increases in health and other expenditures. While many people in the Asian and Pacific region continue to work into old age, labour force participation and earnings decrease at older ages. This is strongly linked to higher levels of disability and decreasing health in old age. It is related to factors such as age and gender discrimination in the workplace, legal restrictions, mandatory retirement age and cultural norms. Women are also more likely than men to be without income in old age. Disability and ill health not only create challenges for accessing paid work, but contribute to higher costs for older persons, including costs of accessing health care and personal assistance. While cultural traditions of family support to older persons have been historically strong in the region, the support provided is often insufficient, and providing this support puts pressure on household finances and employment prospects, particularly for women. </p
Investment facilitation for sustainable development within the context of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the ASEAN Investment Facilitation Framework and the WTO Draft Investment Facilitation Framework for Development
No full textThis report analyses investment facilitation commitments for sustainable development within the context of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ASEAN Investment Facilitation Framework (AIFF) and the WTO Draft Investment Facilitation Framework for Development. While the potential role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in promoting sustainable development is well recognized, the report reveals that significant gaps exist in these instruments with respect to linkages between investment facilitation and sustainable development. In light of the gaps identified, the report puts forward a package of recommendations to help policymakers formulate FDI policies and guide investment promotion agencies (IPAS) to better promote and facilitate FDI for sustainable development
SDG 5 : Gender equality
No full textSince the adoption of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), good progress has been made towards achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in Asia and the Pacific. Efforts have also been directed toward increasing the availability of gender data and statistics to support monitoring and reporting on such progress. Nonetheless, about half of the gender-related SDG indicators still lack data, and progress assessment at the regional level is only possible for one of the nine SDG 5 targets, namely target 5.5 (Ensure full participation in leadership and decision making). For target 5.1 (Eliminate discrimination against women and girls), official data is only available for one point in time, and progress assessment for this target is possible only if proxy indicators are considered (see Annex). Where available, statistics reveal that despite gains made, substantive efforts are needed to accelerate progress and meet the agreed-upon global targets. For instance, women’s representation in national parliaments has increased in most countries since 2015, but the regional average of 20.3 per cent still falls behind the global average of 25.6 per cent.
While data gaps limit trend analysis, the most recent data highlights the need for more attention to the substantial prevalence of intimate partner violence; the sub-regional prevalence of child marriage in Southern Asia and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand); and the disproportionate unpaid care and domestic work burdens on women. The pandemic has exacerbated these issues. The region is unlikely to achieve SDG 5 by 2030 unless Governments make significant investments to accelerate progress.</p
Seventy Eighth Session : review of outcomes of the 400th Session of the ACPR, Thursday July 7 2022
No full text1. Attendance and outcomes of 78th Commission session
2. Media outreach
3. Delegates’ assessment</p
Model chapter on trade in crisis situations in regional trade agreements
Get PDFThe Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the limitations of existing trade rules in ensuring trade resilience during crises. There are two ways of including more specific and dedicated legal provisions in trade agreements to minimise the impacts from trade disruption in times of crisis: (1) amending existing chapters of trade agreements to incorporate such provisions, or (2) introducing a new and separate standalone chapter. The model chapter featured in this document provides a template for the latter case, a separate standalone chapter, which can be further tailored to meet specific needs of the Parties in actual trade agreements.
At the core of this model chapter, is the establishment of a Committee on Crisis Management to oversee the coordination and cooperation to minimise trade disruption in crisis situations. The Committee is responsible for declaring the existence of a crisis situation with a view to trigger the crisis provisions provided under this chapter. After regularly reviewing the situation, the Committee can then determine that the situation has returned to a state of normality, and the focus of cooperation activities will shift back to building up preparedness for future crises.Instead of merely providing general exceptions for countries to take unilateral measures, this chapter provides an additional mechanism to ensure a coordinated response to crises and promote cooperation on preparing for future crises. It provides for specific rights and obligations for trade in crisis situations, helping to reduce uncertainties and keep trade flowing during crises. The provisions in this model chapter are designed to ensure that trade restrictive measures taken in response to a crisis are targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary. In particular, the provisions are very much focused on ensuring the supply of essential goods and services during a crisis through maintaining associated trade facilitation and coordination measures
A climate resilient ICT sector in the Mongolia : action plan and policy recommendations framework
Get PDFInformation communication and technology (ICT) is an important and rapidly emerging sector of the Mongolian economy (ESCAP, 2019). Between 2017 and 2018, the number of mobile telecommunication subscribers in the country increased by 10.5%, the number of mobile broadband subscribers increased by 20.8% and the number of fixed internet subscribers increased by 7.3%. The fibre-optic network deployment increased by 2.5 times from 2001 to 2017, covering over 38,000km. This allowed parts of the rural population living in remote territories to access high speed internet and mobile connectivity. According to an ESCAP assessment, a 10% increase in broadband access leads to a 1% increase in the GDP and doubling the average broadband speed can increase the country’s GDP by 0.3% (ESCAP, 2020).
Mongolia set the goal to provide internet coverage for 70% of the population by 2020, 90% of the population by 2025 and 95% of the population by 2030 (Mongolia Sustainable Development Vision 2030, 2016). However, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication, ICT Indicators Database, the percentage of individuals using internet in Mongolia in 2019 was 51.1%, just below the global average of 51.4% (ITU, 2020). Data collected by DataReportal in 2021 indicated 294,000 new internet users in Mongolia between 2020 and 2021. This would make a total internet coverage of 61% of the population in January 2021 (DataReportal, 2021).</p