RCI-POD

WEBINAR 27

Premiered on:
16 Feb 2022 (Wednesday)
2:00–3:00 pm (Manila)
Platform:
Microsoft Teams Meeting

Managing the Development of Digital Marketplaces in Asia


Digital platforms have become prominent intermediaries or marketplaces that allow the exchange of goods and services or information among participants, on the back of broadening digitalization. They have opened new transaction channels and ways to utilize resources while lowering the service cost and enhancing market efficiency. Yet they also entail risks. This 27th edition of RCI-POD webinar discussed the key messages, findings, and policy considerations from the edited book volume on Managing the Development of Digital Marketplaces in Asia. A panel of experts discussed topics on measuring the digital platform economy, the digital divide, and promoting competition in the digital platform economy in Asia.

Video Link:

Link to YouTube

Downloads:

Agenda (PDF)

Previous Episode:

Implementation Challenges of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
20 Oct 2021 3:00–4:30 pm
(Manila)

Next Episode:

Emerging Financial Inclusion Priorities in the COVID-19 Era
24 Feb 2022 10:00–11:30
(Manila)
Opening Remarks:
Joseph E. Zveglich Jr. Deputy Chief Economist, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD), Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Bio

Joseph E. Zveglich Jr. is the Deputy Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank. In this role, he sets research directions for the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, ensures research quality, and briefs the ADB Board and Management on emerging economic issues.

Previously as Director of macroeconomic research, Mr. Zveglich oversaw the preparation of the annual Asian Development Outlook and the Asian Development Outlook Update, ADB's flagship publications forecasting economic trends in the region. He has also served as Principal Planning and Policy Economist at ADB's Strategy and Policy Department, Senior Advisor to the President, and as Deputy Country Director at the ADB's Sri Lanka Resident Mission. Mr. Zveglich joined ADB in 1998.

Before ADB, Mr. Zveglich worked as a researcher and instructor at the Harvard Institute for International Development as part of the team providing capacity building to government officials in macroeconomic policy and management. He was also a visiting instructor at the College of William and Mary.

Mr. Zveglich earned his Ph.D. and Master of Arts degree at Harvard University. He graduated summa cum laude in economics with an emphasis on Asian studies at Arizona State University.

Presentation:
Managing the Development of Digital Marketplaces in Asia
James Villafuerte Senior Economist, Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division, Southeast Asia Department, ADB
Bio Presentation

James Villafuerte is a senior economist at the Southeast Asia Department (SERD) of the Asian Development Bank. He conducts research on economics and regional cooperation issues in Southeast Asia and leads the SERD Policy Network of economists. He regularly writes economic outlook and risk assessment for Southeast Asia, and examines its medium-term macroeconomic outlook, policy, and development issues—including COVID-19 economic recovery, global value chain participation, green economy, among others.

Mr. Villafuerte’s advisory and research expertise also cover economic modelling, financial integration, macroeconomic surveillance, and early warning systems.

Prior to joining ADB, he was an economist at the World Bank and senior economist at the Department of Treasury and Finance in Victoria, Australia.

Panel Discussion:
Moderator
Thomas Abell Advisor, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department and Chief of Digital Technology for Development Unit, ADB
Bio

Thomas Abell is the Chief of ADB’s Digital Technology for Development Unit, which promotes the effective use of digital technology across ADB programs to improve development impact. His team works with ADB member countries in supporting the transition to the digital economy and provides assistance across many areas, including eGovernment, Tech startup ecosystems, technology policy, and tech industry partnerships.

Mr. Abell has over 30 years of professional experience in digital technology, including technology policy and strategy, software development, and systems architecture. During his 10+ years of experience in international development, he has worked extensively across Asia, Africa and Latin America, working with governments, development organizations, NGOs and corporations. He has authored many publications on technology innovation in development, focused mainly on education, financial inclusion and agriculture.

He has master’s degrees in engineering and management and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from MIT.

Panelists:
Jose Ramon Albert Senior Research Fellow, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)
Bio

Jose Ramon G. Albert is a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. He was the secretary-general of the National Statistical Coordination Board from 2012 to 2014. He was also the training chief of the Statistical Research and Training Center, the research and training arm of the Philippine Statistical System, from 2005 to 2007, and research chief from 1999 to 2005 of the same office. He was also a former adjunct faculty member of the Stephen Zuellig Graduate School of Development Management.

His areas of expertise include poverty measurement and diagnostics, agricultural statistics, education statistics, survey design, data mining, and statistical analysis of missing data. He has written extensively on poverty, social protection, education, gender, ICT, innovation, and other development issues.

Dr. Albert holds a PhD in Statistics from Stony Brook University in New York, USA, where he got his master’s degree also in Statistics.

Johannes Benjamin Bernabe Commissioner, Philippine Competition Commission (PCC)
Bio

Johannes Bernabe is one of the first Commissioners appointed to the Philippine Competition Commission in 2016. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Bernabe advised the Philippine legislature in the drafting and deliberations on the Philippine Competition Act. He likewise taught the pioneering course on Philippine Competition Law in the country’s state university.

Mr. Bernabe is a Senior Fellow at the Geneva-based International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development. Before assuming his post as Commissioner, Mr. Bernabe was a practicing lawyer, most recently as a Senior Partner with the firm Ocampo Manalo Bernabe Valdez Lim, specializing in corporate and commercial law.

Before these, Mr. Bernabe was a trade negotiator and legal adviser for the Philippines at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Over the last decade, he has advised and worked with policy makers and business groups in more than a dozen countries and regional groupings in Asia, Africa and the Middle East on issues covering WTO negotiations, free trade agreements and other international trade law issues.

Mr. Bernabe graduated cum laude with a degree in Economics and subsequently Law at the University of the Philippines. He took postgraduate studies in Law at the University of London and in Public International Trade Law at the International Development Law Institute in Sydney.

Maureen Ane Rosellon former Supervising Research Specialist, PIDS
Bio

Maureen Ane Rosellon is former supervising research specialist at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and her master’s degree in Economics of International Trade and European Integration from a joint international study program under the Erasmus Mundus scholarship. The program was hosted by Staffordshire University in United Kingdom, University of Antwerp in Belgium, and Prague University of Economics and Business in Czech Republic.

Maureen’s research work includes the areas of trade, regional integration, industrial development, and innovation.

Krystal Lyn Uy Director, Mergers and Acquisition Office, PCC
Bio

Krystal Lyn Uy is Director IV of the Mergers and Acquisitions Office of the Philippine Competition Commission since 2016. She previously worked as a litigation and corporate attorney before joining the USAID Trade-Related Assistance for Development (TRADE) Project as the Technical Legal Assistant for Competition, where she worked on the implementing rules and regulations of the newly-enacted Philippine Competition Act.

Krystal Lyn obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the Ateneo de Manila University, and finished her Juris Doctor Degree in the University of the Philippines. In 2019, she obtained her MA in EU Competition Law in King’s College London and in 2020 her LLM in Innovation and Technology Law from the University of Edinburgh. She was admitted in the Philippine Bar in 2011 and was ranked 7 in the 2010 Bar Examinations.

Q&A