Regional: TA Cluster: Economic Diagnostic Studies in Asia and the Pacific

Education / Education sector development - social protection initiatives - Technical and vocational education and training

Energy / Energy sector development and institutional reform

Health / Health insurance and subsidized health programs - Health system development

Industry and trade / Industry and trade sector development - Trade and services

Information and communication technology / ICT strategy and policy, and capacity development

Public sector management / Economic affairs management

Transport / Transport policies and institutional development

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban housing - Urban policy, institutional and capacity development

The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) will support the preparation of economic diagnostic studies to assist Developing Member Countries (DMCs) enhance national development plans and strategies for achieving sustained and inclusive growth. The studies will utilize the latest tools, methodologies, and data to help identify macroeconomic, sector and thematic constraints to growth and inclusion; and recommend policy actions for relaxing these constraints, paying careful attention to the costs and benefits of alternative interventions. The TA will also support capacity building for DMCs to undertake an economic diagnostic approach towards development planning.

The proposed TA is included in the management-approved 2021 Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD) Work Program.

While many countries in Asia and Pacific have made significant strides in achieving sustained economic growth and poverty reduction in the last five decades, there is still a lot to be accomplished. Moreover, these achievements have been tested periodically due to external shocks such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis, 2007-2008 global financial crisis and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that have resulted in large contractions in most economies. Carrying out diagnostic studies is timely as the studies can assist DMC governments in addressing the most pressing challenges faced by their economies for continued progress towards inclusive and sustainable growth.

ADB introduced diagnostic studies in 2007 under TA 6397 to enhance the development planning of DMCs with the objective of improving DMCs' capacity to plan, implement and account for the outcomes of the policies, program and projects they implemented. Through these TA projects, ADB was able to collaborate with DMC governments and various development partners and conduct country diagnostic studies. These studies utilized diagnostic approaches and quantitative methodologies to identify constraints to inclusive and sustainable growth at the macroeconomic, sector and thematic levels.

Under Strategy 2030 ADB is enhancing its role as a knowledge provider by developing knowledge that is tailored to local contexts and help replicate lessons and good practices across the region. While some upper middle-income countries in the region may have a better capacity to undertake development planning, most DMCs lack the analytical and planning capacity to undertake high quality diagnostic analysis. The conduct of diagnostic studies will help low- and middle-income DMCs identify the most pressing challenges in the medium- and long-term and focus their limited resources toward addressing the most critical constraints at the macroeconomic, sector and thematic levels. Provision of technical support to undertake analyses in priority areas can be useful inputs to preparation of national development plans, sector and thematic development strategies, and ADB interventions, including Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) documents.

Diagnostic studies conducted and/or published

The capacity of developing member country officials to employ diagnostic approaches, methodologies and tools to conduct economic and policy analysis developed and enhanced

The experts that will be engaged will be contracted via a consulting firm or individual contracting, depending on the scope and requirements of the study and will be in accordance with the ADB's Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and its associated project administration instructions and/or staff instructions.

Each of the studies will require the services of international and national experts including economists, sector specialists, economic modelers, economic editors, and research assistants. The exact requirement for the type of expertise and the length of inputs will vary among studies and will be determined during the formulation of the terms of reference of each study.