
Should the Eurozone Crisis Dissuade Asia from Integrating?
Asia should not be dissuaded by the European challenges. Yet, Asia should not rush to integrate either.

The BRICS Bank — An Idea Whose Time Has Come
A new institution, offering greater development assistance, is badly needed.

Asian Countries Need to Work Together to Move Forward
Regional cooperation and integration is crucial for Asia and the Pacific to reach its economic and social development goals.

Impacts of Increasing Integration: Challenges in Trade, Finance and the Environment
Regional cooperation and integration (RCI) has played an important role in Asia’s growth and development, and will have to play a role in managing the consequences of this ascendancy going forward.

Asian Financial Integration: How Much Has it Come True?
As articulated by Cavoli, Rajan, and Siregar (2004) in their survey of East Asian financial integration, financial integration is a multidimensional process closely associated with development of financial markets.

Asia Pacific Post-2015 Priorities, MDG8 and Global Partnerships
Any contemporary story on development in Asia-Pacific begins with reflection on massive gains achieved in the fight against poverty. The incidence of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 54.5% in 1990 to 20.7% in 2010, with the number of extreme poor declining from 1.48 billion to 733 million. This precipitous decline in poverty incidence has been accompanied by tremendous gains in access to health and education.

Chinese Bond Default – What Does it Mean for Asia's Bond Market Development?
Last Friday, 7 March, 2014, Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science and Technology Co Ltd defaulted on its 1 billion yuan ’Chaori-11 bond‘ when it failed to pay in full the coupon due that day. The default should not have taken investors by surprise as the company has been struggling over the past few years due to general weakness in the solar panel market.

The Food, Water, Energy Nexus
Striking rates of economic growth notwithstanding, 550 million people remain hungry in Asia and the Pacific, 65% of the population has no safe piped water, and more than 600 million people live without electricity. Overcoming these problems requires a combined approach in which food, water and energy are treated as a nexus, rather than as separate, standalone issues, which has too often been the case in the past.

Central Asian Integration: Doomed Vision or Promising Future?
Central Asia has for centuries been seen as a neglected Russian “backyard,” but international interest in the region has increased over the last two decades because of its vast stores of energy and natural resources. To achieve a brighter future the region must pursue greater economic integration.

All Eyes on Astana for ADB’s Annual Meeting
With its stunning, modern architecture, crisp blue skies, and myriad influences, Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, provides a dramatic backdrop for ADB’s 47th Meeting of the Board of Governors that starts 2 May and concludes three days later.