Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Journal - Volume 29, Issue 1, 2022

For decades the Asia-Pacific region has been driving global economic growth despite occasional setbacks, such as the collapse of economies in Central Asia immediately following the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis. Most of the countries in the region have also done well in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In fact, the attainment of the single most critical MDG – halving the global poverty rate – was due to rapid declines in extreme poverty in the region.

The Asia-Pacific region faces extraordinary challenges due to economic and social disparities, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and rising vulnerabilities caused by climate change. Addressing these challenges will require a holistic and unified plan of action for combatting these economic and social disparities. The present paper serves to outline a comprehensive and integrated inclusive growth framework and apply it to the Asia-Pacific region. It also contains a discussion of policy options for achieving inclusive and sustainable growth.

Governments that aim to adjust their fiscal policies to reduce inequality can look to several analytical tools that are being produced in Asia-Pacific countries, including commitment to equity studies and public expenditure reviews. The present paper contains a review of studies for 12 Asia-Pacific countries. Consistent with previous research on the impact of fiscal policies on inequality, the findings of the review show that policies such as targeted direct transfers, education spending and tax policies that favour direct instead of indirect taxes are most effective at inequality reduction.

Central banks can address barriers to financial inclusion in multiple ways, including regulations regarding banks and non-bank institutions, identity and know-your-client (KYC) rules, support for innovative financial products, and support for innovative financial technology (fintech). At the same time, central banks must weigh the trade-offs between financial inclusion, financial innovation and financial stability. The present paper contains a survey the policies of central banks and other financial regulators in a number of emerging Asian economies to promote financial inclusion. It serves to identify successful experiences and important lessons, and it provides a review of policies central banks adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) has gained much attention among central banks, as it could potentially improve efficiency, inclusion and innovation in the financial system. The present paper contains a review of the CBDC journey of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), from the guiding principles, to test results of the CBDC prototypes and challenges going forward. It provides insights with regard to the introduction of CBDC into the economy, as well as how a public institution such as a central bank can go about exploring cutting-edge technologies for use in public policy.

The Asia-Pacific region is highly disaster prone and susceptible to climate variability and extremes due to widely varying geography from coastal territories to mountainous areas, and tropical to polar climates. Long-term food security in this region necessitates estimation of future food production, including the assessment and adoption of adaptation/mitigation strategies. The present paper serves to highlight climate variability of the recent past and for future projected scenarios, and its impact on food production. It serves to recommend adaptive climate-smart agricultural measures, from local practices to policy level initiatives to help address 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and future food security of the Asia-Pacific region.

The aim of the present paper is to identify the determinants of consumer behaviour of mobile financial services (MFS) in Bangladesh. Data used in the study were collected through an online survey. A total of 1,460 users of MFS in Bangladesh participated in the survey during 2021. The findings of the study show that perceived usefulness has the strongest impact on customer satisfaction, followed by perceived safety and perceived ease of use. Customer satisfaction, however, has the strongest impact on both continuance intention and recommendation intention, followed by perceived usefulness and personal innovativeness. The findings have important policy implications for financial inclusion.

For a central bank to be successful in regulating the financial sector, it must have relevant and pragmatic policies. It should ensure that all financial institutions, including banks, comply with prudential and management norms. Both internal and external factors are making it difficult for Bangladesh Bank to monitor and regulate the financial sector, especially banks. Bangladesh Bank has to move away from its present conventional stance towards a heterogeneous, unconventional and implementable approach. It must strike a balance showing an appropriate professional stance while avoiding the negativity of politically motivated reforms in a highly technical domain.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) improved and expanded the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One of the lessons learned from MDGs is that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development needed to be more comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred. Therefore, the Sustainable Development Goals embrace the principles of universal, integrated and interrelated social, economic and environmental dimensions of development. Moreover, progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals should benefit all people, especially the vulnerable, and the achievement of the Goals should involve all stakeholders, and that ambition is contained in the pledge to leave no one behind.