Time of event

Day 1: 09:00–13:30 Tokyo time
Day 2: 09:50–17:30 Tokyo time
Day 3: 08:50–17:40 Tokyo time

Summary

The economic contraction and financial market turbulence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to reverberate through the real economy, with profound implications for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), households, and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

Governments and central banks have responded to the crisis with substantial fiscal and monetary policy stimulus packages, while businesses are increasingly adopting digital solutions to mitigate the pandemic and persistent lockdowns, travel restrictions, and social distancing.

The 2020 ADBI Annual Conference examined the macroeconomic impacts of COVID-19, its effects on MSMEs and households, and the pandemic-driven acceleration of digitalization in Asia and the Pacific. It explored how these trends will shape macroeconomic policy making and prospects for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region moving forward.

Objectives
  • Assess the impacts of COVID-19 on the macroeconomy, MSMEs, and households in Asia and the Pacific
  • Gauge the broader implications of the pandemic for digitalization in the region and the realization of the SDGs
  • Spotlight policy lessons and ideas for building resilient, inclusive, and sustainable Asian and Pacific economies amid continued COVID-19 uncertainty
Participants
  • Policy makers and experts from think tanks, universities, international organizations, and other institutions
Output
  • Enhanced understanding of COVID-19 era impacts, sustainable development challenges, and potential policy solutions for Asia and the Pacific
  • Greater impetus for policy dialogue, research, and collaboration
  • Conference presentations to be made available on the ADBI website
  • Research papers featured during the proceedings will be considered for publication as ADBI working papers and inclusion in an edited book
Conference Presentations

1 December 2020

Session 1.1.1: Macroeconomic Impact of COVID-19 in Developing Asia
Presenter: Yasuyuki Sawada, Chief Economist and Director General, ERCD, ADB

Slide

Session 1.1.2: Macroeconomic Impact of COVID-19 in Developing Asia
Discussant: Jong-Wha Lee, Professor of Economics, Korea University

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Session 2.1.1: COVID-19 and SME Failures
Presenter: Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Professor of Global Management, Department of Economics and Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

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Session 2.1.2: COVID-19 and SME Failures
Discussant: Yothin Jinjarak, Senior Economist, ERCD, ADB

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Session 2.2.1: The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Asia and their Digitalization Responses
Presenter: Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean and CEO, ADBI

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Session 2.2.2: The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Asia and their Digitalization Responses
Discussant: Daisuke Miyakawa, Associate Professor, Hitotsubashi University Business School (HUB)

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Session 2.3.1: COVID-19 Impact on MSMEs under the Lockdown: Evidence from the Rapid Survey in the Philippines
Presenter: Shigehiro Shinozaki, Senior Economist, ERCD, ADB

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Session 2.3.2: COVID-19 Impact on MSMEs under the Lockdown: Evidence from the Rapid Survey in the Philippines
Discussant: Naoko Nemoto, Financial Economist, ADBI

Slide

2 December 2020

Session 3.1.1: COVID-19: The Impact on the Economy and Policy Responses
Panelist: Hanming Fang, Professor of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Dean, the School of Entrepreneurship and Management, ShanghaiTech University

Slide

Session 3.1.3: SMEs, Digitalization and COVID-19
Wimonkan Kosumas, Deputy Director General, The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion of Thailand

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Session 3.1.4: ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Panelist: Atsuko Okuda, Regional Director, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Asia and the Pacific

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Session 4.1.1: Impacts of COVID-19 on Households in ASEAN Countries and their Implications for Human Capital Development
Presenter: Peter J. Morgan, Vice Chair of Research, ADBI

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Session 4.1.2: Impacts of COVID-19 on Households in ASEAN Countries and their Implications for Human Capital Development
Discussant: Kenichi Ueda, Associate Professor of Economics, The University of Tokyo

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Session 4.2.1: Short-term Impact of COVID-19 Lock-down Measures on Livelihoods and Food Security in Rural Bangladesh: Evidence from a Telephone Survey of Mahbub Hossain Samples
Presenter: Mohammad Abdul Malek, Associate Professor, University of Tsukuba

Slide

Session 4.2.2: Short-term Impact of COVID-19 Lock-down Measures on Livelihoods and Food Security in Rural Bangladesh: Evidence from a Telephone Survey of Mahbub Hossain Samples
Discussant: Monzur Hossain, Research Director, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)

Slide

Session 5.1.1: Digital Technology and Economic Impacts of COVID-19: Experience of the People's Republic of China
Presenter: Yiping Huang, Professor of Economics and Deputy Dean of the National School of Development (NSD) and Director of the Institute of Digital Finance (IDF), Peking University; Han Qiu, PhD Researcher, Peking University

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Session 5.1.2: Digital Technology and Economic Impacts of COVID-19: Experience of the People's Republic of China
Discussant: Sayuri Shirai, Professor of Economics, Keio University

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Session 5.2.1: Automation, COVID-19 and Labour Markets
Presenter: Georgios Petropoulos, Research Fellow, Bruegel

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Session 5.2.2: Automation, COVID-19 and Labour Markets
Discussant: Sumit Agarwal, Low Tuck Kwong Distinguished Professor of Finance at the Business School and Professor of Economics and Real Estate at the National University of Singapore

Slide

3 December 2020

Session 6.1.1: Robust Determinants of the COVID-19 Recession
Presenter: Jonathan D. Ostry, Acting Director, Asia and Pacific Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF)

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Session 6.1.2: Robust Determinants of the COVID-19 Recession
Discussant: John Beirne, Research Fellow, ADBI

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Session 6.2.1: Macroeconomic Policy Adjustments due to COVID-19: Scenarios to 2030 with a focus on Asia
Presenter: Warwick McKibbin, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA), Australian National University (ANU)

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Session 6.2.2: Macroeconomic Policy Adjustments due to COVID-19: Scenarios to 2030 with a focus on Asia
Discussant: Shin-ichi Fukuda, Professor of Economics, The University of Tokyo

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Session 7.1.1: Building Forward Better – Enhancing Resilience of Asia-Pacific Economies in a Post-COVID Time
Presenter: Sweta Saxena, Chief, Macroeconomic Policy and Analysis, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)

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Session 7.1.2: Building Forward Better – Enhancing Resilience of Asia-Pacific Economies in a Post-COVID Time
Discussant: Sally Chen, Regional Advisor, Monetary and Economics Department, BIS-Asia

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Session 7.2.1: COVID-19 and the SDGs: From Brown Relief to Greener Recovery?
Presenter: Eric Zusman, Research Director, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan
Simon Hoiberg Olsen, Research Manager, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan

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Session 8.1: Why Does Asia Compared Better to Latin America When It Comes to Crisis? Zooming into the COVID-19 Shock
Presenter: Alicia Garcia Herrero, Chief Economist Asia Pacific, Natixis

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Session 8.2: Rebooting Economies in the Age of COVID-19
Presenter: Cyn-Young Park, Director, ERCI, ADB

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Session 8.3: Macroeconomic Assessment and Policy Priority in Response to COVID-19
Presenter: Mario Pezzini, Director, OECD Development Centre, Paris

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Session 8.4: COVID-19 and Macroeconomic Policy Response
Presenter: Naoyuki Yoshino, Professor Emeritus, Keio University

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