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Trade in commercial services outlook in Asia and the Pacific 2020/2021
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on trade in commercial services, turning it from weak growth
in 2019 to a sharp contraction in 2020. Globally, commercial services trade value grew by only 2% in 2019. In the
first six months of 2020, global exports and imports declined by 19.5% and 20.1%, respectively, compared to the
same period in 2019. Commercial services trade in Asia and the Pacific performed even worse, moving from a 0.3%
growth in 2019 to export and import declines of more than 22% in the first half of 2020. If this trend continues, the
region’s shares in global commercial services trade will also edge down to 26.5% (exports) and 30.1% (imports) in
2020, from 27.8% and 31.5% a year earlier.
Adverse impacts of the pandemic are uneven across services and economies. Travel and transport dependent
economies tend to face more negative impacts than other countries. International tourist arrivals during the first
eight months of 2020 decreased by 78.8% compared to the same period of 2019. These are linked to a massive
65.3% decline in international flights during the first eight months of 2020. In contrast, economies exporting
information and communications technology (ICT) services as well as digitally enabled services have seen some
new opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although trade in commercial services is not expected to fully return to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2021, a partial
recovery of demand for commercial services – in particular transport services – is anticipated. Maritime transport
services will benefit from the positive growth in merchandise trade volume. Additionally, air transport services and
travel services will grow in 2021 from a very low base in the previous year. However, the partial recovery of demand
will not generate significant upward pressures on prices except in selected sectors that may experience supply
shortages because of business shutdowns during the pandemic. The recovery of cross-border travel services will be
limited because of high restrictions on cross-border travels.
In the medium to long term, Asia-Pacific economies will see digitalisation, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic,
redefine the nature of services trade. The trend of delivering services through digital means will stay after the
pandemic, as the higher efficiency and productivity gains they can bring have been proven. Digitally-enabled services
may substitute for some part of other services. For example, telemedicine and teleconference services, by reducing
the need for person-to-person contact, may reduce demand for travel, including passenger air transport services.
Similarly, COVID-19 pandemic related change in consumer behaviour has fast-forwarded e-commerce as a new
normal. This may require developing countries in the region to adjust their development priorities and focus on
acquiring the capacity to effectively engage in a rapidly digitalizing trade environment, especially hard and soft trade
infrastructure.
However, trade in digital services continues to be hindered by domestic regulations that are beyond the scope of
trade policies, such as data protection, intermediary liabilities, filtering or blocking, and cybersecurity standards,
among others. Also, since 2019, there have been increased restrictions on the usage of various mobile applications,
perceived as potentially stifling national security, in certain countries. These recently emerged barriers appear to
show uncoordinated and conflicting policy objectives in digital trade policy areas.</p
3rd Asia-Pacific Forum for South-South and Triangular Cooperation : the role of South-South Cooperation in building back better from COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and the Pacific
No full textPrepared as the background document for the 3rd Asia-Pacific Forum for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, this report examines the role of South-South and triangular cooperation in building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and the Pacific.
The report is structured around three sections. The first section provides an overview of where the region currently stands in terms of socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 in Asia-Pacific. The second section provides examples of the South-South and triangular cooperation actions undertaken by the United Nations, including ESCAP, regional and subregional organizations and countries in Asia and the Pacific to respond to and start recovering from the pandemic. The third section examines ways to accelerate recovery and resilience for all, bringing forward five recommendations for follow-up actions. </p
A guide book on intellectual property issues to be considered while transferring renewable energy technologies
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Businesses move forward with carbon pricing
Get PDFAs highlighted in Economic and Social Survey 2020, investors and consumers (especially millennials) are demanding
businesses to move beyond short-term profit and adopt environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
Moreover, with growing recognition of climate-related risks as well as low-carbon opportunities, major companies across
the world, including in Asia and Pacific, are pricing carbon in their day-to-day operations and to inform investment
decisions and long-term strategies. This policy brief takes stock of this recent trend, and explains the main steps to
consider in corporate carbon pricing, also known as internal carbon pricing. Such proactive, voluntary measures by
businesses are important as governments seek to raise the level of ambition on carbon pricing (see the sister brief).</p
COVID-19 : opportunities for resilient recovery
Get PDFAs countries continue to meet the immediate needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis is forcing policymakers to consider the unavoidable trade-offs between saving lives and preserving jobs and livelihoods. Throughout Asia-Pacific, governments are considering options for restarting their economic engines and putting people back to work, including in key sectors that have been most impacted by the pandemic. Experts are considering what recovery might look like once the virus is contained but also how countries can use this recovery opportunity to achieve longer-term resilience goals, including decarbonisation of the world economy.
Jointly prepared by UNESCAP, UNDRR and the International Recovery Platform under the Issue Based Coalition on Resilience, the policy brief highlights the lessons learned from past disaster recovery events, and considers how countries can start preparing for a recovery that is climate-sensitive, inclusive and contributes to global efforts to build more resilient systems that are better placed to prevent such crises in the future
Outward foreign direct investment and home country sustainable development
No full textAsia and the Pacific has now become the largest source of foreign direct investment globally. This is due to the growing number of firms from Asia and the Pacific that have become active outward investors. The upsurge in outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from Asia and the Pacific raises several unanswered questions, including how can OFDI stimulate positive developmental outcomes in home countries? What types of activities and associated variables, inter alia size, type, direction, and sector of investment yield the most significant sustainable development outcomes for home countries? What bottlenecks do Asia-Pacific countries face in stimulating and benefiting from OFDI? What mechanisms and policies are in place and/or needed for OFDI to provide developmental benefits to the home economy? To answer these questions, this study focuses on exploring the potential of OFDI to stimulate sustainable development outcomes in home economies in the Asia and Pacific region. In doing so, it provides an overview of the OFDI trends in the Asia-Pacific region; conceptually links OFDI home country effects with the Sustainable Development Goals; empirically assesses the existence of home country effects in selected Asia-Pacific countries; outlines a non-exhaustive list of home country measures, i.e. policy measures and institutional arrangements, that home countries can put in place to leverage OFDI for their respective country's sustainable development; and provides a case study analysis of the home country measures currently in place and planned in three developing countries in the ASEAN subregion
Artificial intelligence and broadband divide in Asia and the Pacific
Get PDFArtificial Intelligence (AI), consisting of various digital technologies, is increasingly transforming the way we live and work in the region and beyond. The Report on “Artificial ntelligence and Broadband Divide: State of ICT Connectivity in Asia and the Pacific 2017” aims first to deepen our understanding of the digital components of AI and how they relate to AI. Second, the report provides selected examples of AI-induced transformations that have contributed to accelerating implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)