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Asia-Pacific tech monitor. Vol. 25, No. 2, Mar - Apr 2008
No full textTechnology adoption and micro-finance : Micro-enterprises run by women in India / Swarna Sadasivam Vepa
Empowering women in Thailand : Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) / BAAC, Thailand
Women’s empowerment in India : SHGs, microfinance and technology experiences / Asutosh Satpathy
Beginning from scratch : The true story of a remarkable businesswoman / Phan Cu Nhan
Lessons from the URJA project : Women’s empowerment through micro-finance and technology / Joy Deshmukh-Ranadiv
Report of the expert group meeting on the uses of big data for official statistics: data governance and partnership models
Get PDFDuring 16 August – 2 September 2021, ESCAP Statistics Division organized the Expert Group Meeting on Big Data for Official Statistics: Data Governance and Partnership Models. The event was aimed at the following – exploring interest and need for regional guidance to NSOs on big data governance and partnerships; exploring institutional and legal foundations for successful big data integration into official statistics; and country experience sharing. The EGM focused on two topics: Big Data Governance and Big Data Partnership models and was comprised of four sessions: two public Stats Cafes and two closed expert discussions - one dedicated to each topic.
The two Stats Cafes on Data Governance and Big Data Partnership Models were attended by over 150 online participants each. The presentations and recordings of the Stats Cafes are publicly available and fed into the succeeding expert discussions. The two expert discussions were attended by 30 participants from the national statistical offices, development partners and private sector.</p
Trade in goods outlook in Asia and the Pacific 2021/2022
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After a dramatic year for the global economy, economic activity and international merchandise trade rebounded strongly in 2021. Global merchandise exports and imports are estimated to have surpassed pre-pandemic (2019) levels, with nominal growth of 24.6% and 23.8%, respectively. Likewise, growth in the value of exports and imports in Asia and the Pacific is estimated at 23.1% and 22.8%. Nevertheless, removing inflationary pressures, ESCAP finds that Asia and the Pacific actually overperformed the rest of the world with regional real exports and imports growing 10.0% and 9.1%, respectively, year on year, compared with 8.4% and 7.7% globally, respectively, in the same period.
Inflationary pressures have been experienced worldwide during 2021. The price of commodities such as oil, food and metals surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Supply-chain disruptions, heightened global demand and expansionary fiscal and monetary policies – especially in developed economies – have added further pressure to price levels by widening the mismatch between global demand and supply. Overall, regional export and import prices tended to grow by 13.1% and 13.8%, respectively, in 2021.
This year has also been characterized by uneven growth between the first and second halves of 2021. The first half of the year observed robust growth in trade, driven by the speedy progress of vaccination campaigns in the developed world, especially in the European Union and the United States. The second half of the year saw the rise of the COVID-19 Delta-variant, forcing many East and South-East Asian economies to impose lockdown measures, thereby disrupting GVCs and hampering trade growth in the region.
Behind the robust trade performance of Asia and the Pacific is the heterogeneous performance in the region. At one end, the oil, food and metal commodities exporters, most of whom are located in North and Central Asia as well as in South and South- West Asia, have been enjoying higher-than- average regional trade growth driven by increased commodity prices. At the other end, exporters of advanced manufactured goods, particularly semiconductors, in East and North-East Asia performed below the regional average.
The Asia-Pacific region’s prominence in global merchandise trade value has slightly declined in 2021 to 41.0% of the world’s exports and 36.8% of global imports, compared to the region’s 41.5% and 37.1% share of global exports and imports, respectively, in 2020.
In 2022, merchandise trade is expected to continue recovering, albeit more moderately than in 2021. With the gradual resolution of supply-side disruptions and easing of expansionary fiscal policies in developed economies, inflationary pressures are expected to ease in 2022: Regional export and import prices are forecast to grow by only 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively, in 2022. As a result, regional nominal exports and imports will grow at 5.5% and 6.8%, respectively, in 2022, whereas real exports and imports will grow at 4.1% and 5.2%, respectively, during the same period.
However, downside pressures to a robust economic recovery continue to exist. In particular, the incomplete rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in developing economies – especially in lower-middle and low-income ones – as well as increased global financial instability, and scaling back of fiscal stimulus are among the most immediate threats to global output growth. Developing economies are especially exposed to these downside risks since they are often overexposed to foreign creditors and are also battling COVID-19 waves with often lower vaccination rates and fiscal space.
Due to the supply-chain disruptions and the use of trade for geopolitical leverage, firms may further alter their investment decisions and business models to ensure resilience and reliability. Thus far, diversification of supply sources appears to be the most preferred strategy by firms for hedging against single-supplier dependency. In the Asia-Pacific region, a ‘China+1’ strategy whereby existing supply-chains are replicated in other countries – often in South and South-East Asia – is increasingly evident. Other noteworthy factors that lie at the heart of GVC restructuring include climate change and green transition.
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The future of Asian & Pacific cities : transformative pathways towards sustainable urban development in the post COVID-19 era
No full textCities in the Asia-Pacific region have been heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyperconnected in a global web of urban networks, cities in the region have been the first hotspots. Although its impact was unprecedented, the disease was not unexpected, as similar contagious respiratory illnesses have previously occurred in the region. At the same time, unsustainable urbanization in the region, magnified by climate change, is a significant contributing factor to the emergence of new and more frequent zoonotic diseases.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban dwellers has placed a focus on the spatial and socioeconomic aspects of cities. In addition, the crises not only demands attention for infectious diseases, but also for the serious increase of non-communicable diseases., often called the invisible pandemic, that are related to unhealthy environments and explain the more serious complications among COVID-19 victims. The various cycles of lockdowns and containments also have increased mental health issues among all generations. All these facts help to raise awareness that there is a need not just to look beyond the immediate COVID-19 response and economic recovery in the short term, but also to invest in sustainable urban development that strengthens health systems and urban resilience
South and South-West Asia Development Monitor No. 6
No full textSouth and South-West Asia Development Monitor Number 15 July 2012
The Development Monitor is a bimonthly electronic newsletter, launched in early 2012 (issued on a monthly basis initially), which provides an overview of the work and activities undertaken by the ESCAP South and South-West Asia Office and conferences and knowledge products of relevance to the subregion. The newsletter also provides a compilation of news and articles on themes covered by the ESCAP SSWA work programme.
A Policy Dialogue on Global Economic Turmoil and Asia-Pacific’s Economic Prospects: Implications for Nepal was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 12 July 2012 organised by ESCAP South and South-West Office in collaboration with South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE). Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director of the ESCAP South and South-West Asia office and ESCAP Chief Economist made a thematic presentation in the opening session. The policy dialogue aimed to discuss the implications for Nepal of the continuing global turmoil and crisis in developed economies