Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, countries in East Asia have made efforts to promote regional monetary and financial cooperation to complement the evolving international financial architecture. This increased interest in regional monetary and financial cooperation has resulted in several initiatives - the ASEAN Surveillance Process, the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Process including its Chiang Mai Initiative of 2000, the Manila Framework Group and the Asia-Europe Finance Ministers Process to name a few. These developments in some ways represent a significant break from the past. Going forward the key challenge is how to set priorites and sequence developments so as to smooth the path to a new regional financial architecture. This two-volume set takes up the issue of developing a road map of policy options, both at the regional and country levels, for carrying forward the ongoing efforts in monetary and financial cooperation in East Asia. Building on a series of core reports and background papers by eminent economists and policymakers around the world commissioned under an ADB technical assistance project, the books explore what is feasible and desirable in regional monetary and financial cooperation and lays out a road map for putting the concept into action over the next several years. Volume 1 contains an overview by Peter Montiel, and three core studies by Olam Chaipravat, Eric Girardin, and Takatoshi Ito and Yung-Chul Park. Volume 2 contains background papers by Robert J. Barro; Elbliog'onore Boiscuvier and Alfred Steinherr; Barry Eichengreen; Jeffrey A. Frankel; Eric Girardin; Jong-Wha Lee; Yung-Chul Park and Kwanho Shin; Ronald McKinnon; Eiji Ogawa, Takatoshi Ito, and YuriNagataki Sasaki; Ramkishen Rajan and Reza Siregar; Yunjong Wang and Wing Thye Woo; and Charles Wyplosz. The volumes and the study on which they were based were conceptualized, supervised, and coordinated by Pradumna B. Rana and Srinivasa Madhur.

Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, East Asia has implemented a number of initiatives designed to strengthen monetary and financial cooperation, bolstering the region's resilience to economic and financial vulnerabilities. One such initiative is the ASEAN & 3 Information Exchange and Policy Dialogue, which includes development of early warning systems (EWS) for financial crises. This book examines efforts to develop EWS models. Specifically, the book analyses the current understanding of the causes of currency and banking crises, describes recent progress in developing and applying EWS models for currency and banking crises, reviews methodological isues, assesses the predictive power of EWS models and also highlights areas where further research is required to make these models more effective tools for policy analysis. The case studies apply both parametric and nonparametric approaches to EWS modeling using data from six East Asian countries.

This report analyzes future energy market options for Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program members to help facilitate sustainable energy infrastructure investment. The report provides forecasts at individual country and regional levels. It aims to equip investors and policy makers with insights on regional trends to help identify potential investment opportunities that will improve energy services and reduce carbon emissions across CAREC countries. It includes energy supply and demand scenarios, assessments of innovative technologies, estimates of investment needs in the energy sector, and possible trajectories for carbon emissions.

This publication contains a detailed overview of Bangladesh's public–private partnership (PPP) landscape, assesses its progress, and explains how well-structured deals can help climate-proof its infrastructure and maintain growth. Designed as a one-stop source of information on Bangladesh's relatively mature PPP sector, it assesses over 500 qualitative and quantitative indicators, and shows how strengthening institutional frameworks has encouraged investments in core sectors such as ports, energy, and transportation. It explores how Bangladesh now needs to ramp up regulation and tighten contractual frameworks to generate more long-term financing and fill the funding gap it faces as demand for climate-resilient infrastructure rises.

This Atlas is composed of Hazards-Volume I and Exposures, Vulnerabilities, and Risks-Volume II containing spatial information and thematic maps for assessing development in the agriculture and water sectors. This two-volume atlas is intended to support the formulation of co-beneficial options for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management in Bangladesh.

This publication explains how market-based instruments can be utilized to improve air quality, water, and waste management in Asia. Asia has experienced massive economic growth, characterized by rapid urbanization and industrialization, changing demographics, and increasing consumption and demand for resource. This has contributed to significant environmental degradation. The challenge faced by governments in the region is in identifying and implementing innovative and dynamic policy approaches that are effective at improving environmental quality while sustaining development gains. The report makes recommendations on how market-based instruments can be used for more efficient and effective environmental management.

This report provides key information about the 2020 financial operations of trust funds, global funds, and special funds administered by ADB. It includes an assessment of how these trust funds helped ADB's developing member countries respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The contribution made by the trust funds to the operational priorities of ADB's Strategy 2030 is also discussed.

This publication showcases 100 projects and programs tackling climate change and its impacts on people and the environment in cities across Asia and the Pacific. The climate actions are drawn from multiple sectors-renewable energy, carbon finance, transport, land use, information and communication technology, climate action plans, building energy efficiency, solid waste management, sustainable and low-carbon communities, and climate resilience. The examples show how city-level initiatives contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience, all while delivering economic, environmental, health, and social co-benefits.

Report 2 contains a comprehensive review of the growing number and variety of climate lawsuits in Asia and the Pacific. It underscores the unique flavor and voice of regional jurisprudence and compares it with global approaches. Climate change in Asia and the Pacific is deadly and impacts communities now. The report details why and how regional climate litigation seeks relief in increasingly urgent ways. It is the second in the four-part series that ADB produced in recognition of the inevitability of increased litigation in the era of climate change.

This manual provides detailed guidelines for using the Simple Linear Actuarial Model in the assessment of health insurances, complementing the publication titled An Actuarial Model for Costing Universal Health Coverage in Armenia. The Simple Linear Actuarial Model was developed to calculate and present actuarial projections and key financial indicators in support of the management of health insurance programs. In Armenia, it can serve as a tool for the assessment of the overall costs and financial sustainability of health insurance programs that automatically updates without frequent intervention of actuarial experts. It is also ideal for the assessment of alternative policy configurations of health insurance schemes.

This edition focuses on the China Inter-Bank Bond Market (CIBM), which is the largest bond market segment in the People's Republic of China. The CIBM is one of only two bond markets in the country that are accessible to foreign investment; the other being the Exchange Bond Market. The legal and regulatory frameworks, features, challenges, and opportunities for the CIBM are outlined here. This edition is part the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide series that provides country-specific information on the investment climate, rules, laws, opportunities, and characteristics of local bond markets in Asia and the Pacific.

This book analyses how Uzbekistan can boost sustainable economic growth to create more and better jobs. It considers how the country can consolidate achievements from recent policy reforms and maintain reform efforts to accelerate sustainable growth. Policy recommendations cover fostering macroeconomic stability, increasing investment in physical infrastructure, enhancing human capital, improving firms' access to finance, and lowering barriers to international trade and foreign investment inflows.

Azerbaijan has set the course for the economy to reduce its dependence on oil by promoting new drivers of growth. This publication emphasizes the need for diversification, particularly in the agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. By 2025, under the Strategic Roads Maps of the Government of Azerbaijan, a more diversified economy should take shape led by these three sectors. Bold reforms need to strengthen areas of the economy that could otherwise impede this transition, and policy makers must resolutely stay on the reform path. The core message of the publication is diversification toward non-oil sources of growth alongside efforts to reduce macroeconomic risks and the high cost of finance, make the education system responsive to the needs of the labor market, close infrastructure gaps, and help economically significant state-owned enterprises become more efficient.

The Multihazard Risk Atlas of Maldives is composed of Geography-Volume I, Climate and Geophysical Hazards-Volume II, Economy and Demographics-Volume III, Biodiversity-Volume IV, and Summary-Volume V. This atlas provides spatial information about Maldives and thematic maps necessary for assessing future development investments in terms of climate risks and geophysical hazards. It is also intended to support the formulation of cobeneficial options for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management. The five-volume atlas is a major output of the project "Establishing a National Geospatial Database for Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Development Activities and Policies in Maldives" under the Asian Development Bank's regional knowledge and support (capacity development) technical assistance Action on Climate Change in South Asia (2013-2018).

The Multihazard Risk Atlas of Maldives is composed of Geography-Volume I, Climate and Geophysical Hazards-Volume II, Economy and Demographics-Volume III, Biodiversity-Volume IV, and Summary-Volume V. This atlas provides spatial information about Maldives and thematic maps necessary for assessing future development investments in terms of climate risks and geophysical hazards. It is also intended to support the formulation of cobeneficial options for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management. The five-volume atlas is a major output of the project "Establishing a National Geospatial Database for Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Development Activities and Policies in Maldives" under the Asian Development Bank's regional knowledge and support (capacity development) technical assistance Action on Climate Change in South Asia (2013-2018).

This report provides an assessment of Viet Nam's secondary education sector, including technical and vocational education training programs. The report reviews sector achievements and challenges as well as the Government of Viet Nam's strategy and policies. It also outlines how the Asian Development Bank and other development partners have contributed to the sector. The report provides recommendations on measures to boost access to secondary education and to improve its overall quality and management.

This report examines how technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Viet Nam can be improved to increase the country's global competitiveness. Following three decades of sustained economic growth, in 2009, Viet Nam graduated to become a lower middle-class country. However, despite ample foreign direct investment, labor productivity remains low. Improved TVET will help boost labor productivity in Viet Nam by developing skilled workers that meet market demands. Recommendations in this report focus on reforms in the governance structure, organization, and management of TVET; effective teaching of the right skills; greater enterprise-based training and financial support; and more inclusive access to higher quality training.

Developing Asia's gross domestic product is forecast to expand by 6.0% in 2018 and 5.8% in 2019. Consumer prices for 2018 and 2019 are projected to rise by 2.8%. Growth in developing Asia has so far held up against external headwinds. The forecast for rising inflation is tempered despite higher global fuel and food prices. Downside risks to the outlook are intensifying. Any escalation of the trade conflict could disrupt cross-border production links. While the region is expected to meet the Asian Development Outlook 2018 forecast of 6.0% growth in 2018, the projection for 2019 has been trimmed by 0.1 percentage points to 5.8%. Excluding Asia's high-income newly industrialized economies, the region is expected to expand by 6.5% this year and 6.3% in 2019. The Asian Development Outlook series analyzes economic and development issues in developing countries in Asia. This includes forecasting the inflation and gross domestic product growth rates of countries throughout the region, including the People's Republic of China and India.

This book offers guidance on the principles, methods, and practice of impact evaluation. It contains material for a range of audiences, from those who may use or manage impact evaluations to applied researchers. Impact evaluation is an empirical approach to estimating the causal effects of interventions, in terms of both magnitude and statistical significance. Expanded use of impact evaluation techniques is critical to rigorously derive knowledge from development operations and for development investments and policies to become more evidence-based and effective. To help backstop more use of impact evaluation approaches, this book introduces core concepts, methods, and considerations for planning, designing, managing, and implementing impact evaluation, supplemented by examples. The topics covered range from impact evaluation purposes to basic principles, specific methodologies, and guidance on field implementation. It has materials for a range of audiences, from those who are interested in understanding evidence on "what works" in development, to those who will contribute to expanding the evidence base as applied researchers.