Year in Review 2016
Message from the Dean
Archive The Year in Review summarizes ADBI's
key achievements in research,
capacity building and training, and outreach. ADB Institute (ADBI) collaborates with the ADB headquarters in Manila on demand-oriented research, and capacity building and training.
One of our main interests is infrastructure. Many Asian countries have huge infrastructure needs but insufficient funds. Public–private partnerships are, therefore, important, but many face obstacles because returns on infrastructure are usually low. User charges such as highway tolls or railway fees are a major source of income, but because highways and railways are public goods, governments often regulate their pricing. Water supply and electricity are also public goods and so their price is controlled. It is difficult, therefore, to induce the private sector to invest in them. But a region with good water and electricity supply can attract companies, which would increase employment and land prices, and generate tax revenues with the spillover effects of investment. If tax revenues are partly returned to investors, their rate of return would be greatly increased.
We found this to be the case after studying Uzbekistan’s railways and Philippine highways. The same applies to infrastructure projects in Viet Nam and many other countries. Ha Noi is now planning a ring road but does not have enough public funding. A solution could be to encourage private investors by agreeing to return spillover tax revenues to them after the ring road is completed.
Capacity Building and Training
Overview
The Capacity Building and Training (CBT) Department had a highly successful 2016. The sectoral range and geographic reach of activities were expanded and continued to tackle ADBI’s priority themes through policy dialogue and training. A total of 43 events were organized in collaboration with 50 national, regional, and international partner organizations in Tokyo and in all five regions of Asia and the Pacific. CBT’s Policy Briefs, a series initiated in 2015, continued in 2016, helping reach out to policy makers across Asia and widely disseminate policy issues discussed at CBT events.
Key Events:
- The OECD-ILO-ADBI 6th Labour Migration in Asia Roundtable: Safeguarding Labor Migrants from Home to Workplace
- Training on Tax Evasion: Investigation and Compliance Strategies
- Seminar on The Role of Public Finance in Asian Infrastructure Development
- The Financial Inclusion in the Digital Economy Conference
- The Tokyo Fiscal Forum on Fiscal Policy for Long-term Growth and Sustainability in an Aging Society
- Training on Integrated Water Resources Management under Climate Change
- The 3rd OECD Green Investment Financing Forum
- Training on Power and Energy Connectivity through Cooperation in South Asia
- Training on Services Trade and Regulatory Reforms in Asia: In Search of a Comprehensive Approach
- Training on Investing for the Future: Infrastructure Development in Central Asia
Key Publication
- SMEs in Developing Asia: New Approaches to Overcoming Market Failures
- Labor Migration in Asia: Building Effective Institutions
Policy Briefs
- Financial Inclusion in the Digital Age
- Economic Growth and Sustainable Development in Pacific Island Countries
- Promoting Agricultural Value Chain Integration in Central Asia and the Caucasus
- The Development Dimension of E-Commerce in Asia: Opportunities and Challenges
Research
Overview
Events organized by the Research Department in 2016 were focused on issues concerning Sustainable Development Goals and Trade; Trade Finance Gaps; The Digital Economy and New Trade Tools; Overweight and Obesity; Urbanization and Infrastructure; Financial Inclusion, Regulation and Education; Middle-Income Trap; and Aging and Income Inequality in Asia. These were successful in bringing together field experts to talk about prevailing issues faced by ADB member countries that will contribute towards policy formulation. Research output were published in different media formats and are publicly available on the ADBI website.
Highlights of Major Research Activities
- Workshop: Sustainable Development Goals and Trade: Achieving Win–Wins
- Obesity in Asia and the Pacific: Facts, Prospects, Consequences, and Policies for Better Health
- Conference: Financing Quality and Green Infrastructure in Asia
- Conference: Enhancing Financial Inclusion through Postal Savings
- The Middle-Income Trap in Asia and the People’s Republic of China New Economic Normal Conference
- Global Shocks and the New Global and Regional Financial Architecture
- ADBI Annual Conference 2016: The Implications of Ultra-Low and Negative Interest Rates for Asia
- 5th OECD–AMRO–ADB–ADBI–ERIA Asian Regional Roundtable: Macroeconomic and Structural Policy Challenges
Key Publications
- SMEs in Developing Asia: New Approaches to Overcoming Market Failures
- The Asian ‘Poverty Miracle’: Impressive Accomplishments or Incomplete Achievements?
- Promoting Better Lifetime Planning Through Financial Education
- Production Networks and Enterprises in East Asia - Industry and Firm-level Analysis
- The Housing Challenge in Emerging Asia: Options and Solutions
ADBI in the Media
