Asia Regional Integration Center

Iwan Azis, professor and director of Graduate Study in Regional Science, Cornell University, discusses how understanding the intangible sources of policy conflicts can be a key to improving regional cooperation. Confirm participation with Liza Cruz at mlscruz@adb.org.

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda will give the keynote speech at this joint ADB/ADBI conference, the latest in a number of conferences related to the current global financial crisis and economic downturn. Speakers will analyze the implications of the crisis on structural and institutional policy responses in Asia at the national and regional levels. See agenda. Confirm with Jessaine Sugui at jsugui@adb.org.

The CAREC Institute website offers a new hub of information and knowledge on regional economic cooperation in Central Asia. The site, which is available in Russian and English, contains searchable databases on CAREC’s projects, events, studies and research particularly in the areas of transport, energy and trade. Country pages for each CAREC member country are also provided. Visit the site.

Speaking at a seminar in ADB, Indonesia's Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu emphasized multilateral approaches to enhance trade in Asia and the Pacific. Underlining the significance of ADB's role, the Minister suggested building a network of international economic policy experts and scholars in Asia to promote trade. ADB's Managing Director General Rajat M. Nag, who delivered the welcome remarks, affirmed the importance of such a network given the enormous challenges affecting trade in the region.  Iwan J. Azis, head of ADB's Office of Regional Economic Integration, gave the closing remarks. Download original speech. See video clip.  Listen to full audio.

The Regional Technical Group (RTG) on Aid for Trade, co-chaired by Japan and Cambodia, met at ADB on 27-28 April 2011. Items discussed include: the RTG co-chairs report, RTG workplan for 2011-2012, and preparations for the WTO Global Aid for Trade Review in July 2011. The ADO 2011 chapter on South-South cooperation was presented in the meeting. See agenda and photo.

Vanessa Smith of the University of Cambridge’s Center for Financial Analysis and Policy will introduce the Global Vector Autoregression (GVAR) approach to macroeconomic modeling. This approach offers a general framework for the quantitative analysis of different shocks and transmission mechanism channels. It is often used as a tool for policy analysis and forecasting. Confirm attendance with Pia Tenchavez.

In the November issue of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER) and South Asian Bureau of Economic Research (SABER) newsletter, OREI’s lead economist Jayant Menon discusses the trade policy challenges faced by Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV)—the newest members of ASEAN. The paper concludes that the multilateralised single-rate system is a better alternative to the multiple-rate system and thus suggests that CLMV countries should follow the original ASEAN members and multilateralize their CEPT tariff preferences. It encourages both old and new members to do the same, especially in the context of proliferating ASEAN+1 FTAs. Read more.

Demand for local bonds is still strong in face of rising risks and global weakness. The local currency bond markets in emerging East Asia grew by 5.5% y-o-y at the end of September to reach $5.5 trillion, driven by strong growth in corporate bonds. Yield curves in most LCY government bond markets flattened and shifted downwards as market and policy focus moved to support growth. In the recent AsianBondsOnline Bond Market Liquidity Survey for 2011 current concerns about global financial stability contributed to a modest widening of bid-ask spreads from the levels of last year's survey. Download report and press release.