COVID-19 Impacts and Policy Options: An Asian Perspective

COVID-19 economic recovery can be advanced by greater efforts to boost longer-term resilience and sustainability in Asia and the Pacific, including coordinated, targeted responses to mounting climate risks and measures for addressing poverty and inequality. Harnessing digitalization to drive sustainable economic growth, productivity, human capital development, and financial inclusion will be an especially important post-pandemic policy priority.

The inaugural entry in the ADBI Series on Asian and Pacific Sustainable Development, COVID-19 Impacts and Policy Options: An Asian Perspective, provides crucial insights into the economic effects and policy implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. Part I focuses on the macroeconomic impacts and disproportionately negative economic effects of the pandemic on low-income households and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Asia and the Pacific, particularly in less-developed and vulnerable countries.

Part II examines the implications of COVID-19 for longer-term structural changes in the region’s economy, including accelerating digitalization and the effects of automation on the labor market. Finally, Part III focuses on key post-pandemic recovery needs in Asia and the Pacific, including promoting green investment and bolstering commitments to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

COVID-19 Impacts and Policy Options: An Asian Perspective is an invaluable source of timely, evidence-based research and analysis for policy makers, scholars, and others interested in the region’s post-COVID-19 recovery imperatives and policy next steps.