Governance and public sector management, Information and Communications Technology

Taxation and digitalization in the COVID-19 era

Taxation and digitalization in the COVID-19 era
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created challenges for tax administrations and is constraining tax revenue in many countries. Its impacts have caused the global economy to slow down, leading to reduced tax collection. However, the pandemic has also changed social habits and encouraged people to use digital technologies.

Climate change, Environment, Water

Climate change impacts in Asia are all essentially a water story

Climate change impacts in Asia are all essentially a water story
Global climate change caused by human activities will continue to be catastrophic for humanity. In particular, climate change is having serious impacts on the world’s water systems (United Nations 2020), and changes in these systems can have an enormous impact on people’s lives. This is because water plays a critical role in the very existence of all forms of life on earth as the foundation of human well-being and prosperity (Asian Development Bank 2020) and a source of life and livelihoods.

Governance and public sector management, Health, Sanitation, Social development and protection, Water

Top journal articles on sanitation reveal new policy insights

Policy insights from a review of the top journal articles on sanitation
An examination of the published journal articles on development economics reveals a striking pattern—very few are devoted to the analysis of sanitation interventions and development. In a recent systematic review of all sanitation-related articles from the top-12 highest-ranking journals on development economics (Revilla et al. 2021), we attempt to understand the linkages between sanitation and development based on current qualitative and quantitative empirical work.

Governance and public sector management, Health, Industry and trade

Rethinking the impact of the lockdown on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the Philippines

Rethinking the impact of the lockdown on Filipino micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises
The National Capital Region (NCR) and four provinces in the Philippines have returned to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) since 29 March 2021 due to surging cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The ECQ is the strictest measure for prohibiting the movement of people for nonessential purposes and strengthening curfews. The Philippine government moved to the ECQ, or lockdown, to contain the spread of COVID-19 quickly after the pandemic was identified in March 2020.

Climate change, Finance sector development

ESG investment for promoting net-zero carbon emissions

ESG investment for promoting net-zero carbon emissions
ESG investment aims to encourage companies to consider environment (E), social (S), and corporate governance (G) issues by raising their long-term corporate value. It is becoming indispensable for filling the funding shortfalls needed to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the global temperature increase this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, and desirably within 1.5 degrees Celsius, as well as to encourage the transformation of corporate behavior toward net-zero emissions.

Economics, Finance sector development Agriculture and natural resources, Economics

Transitioning to high-value agriculture through cluster-based development

Transitioning to high-value agriculture through cluster-based development
Income growth, urbanization, nutritional awareness, and supermarket revolutions in Asia are fueling demand for high-value agricultural products (HVPs), such as vegetables and fruits. This change in consumer demand can provide new agri-food market opportunities, which in turn can contribute to numerous Sustainable Development Goals through increased rural income, rural livelihood improvement, and rural poverty reduction.

Climate change, Finance sector development

Revisiting green bond market development in Viet Nam

Revisiting green bond market development in Viet Nam
Green bonds (GBs) are being used around the world as a financial tool for raising capital for projects that can benefit the environment (World Bank 2019). The money raised by GB issuances can fund investment in programs that enhance adaptation and mitigate the effects of climate change, such as projects for clean energy, public transport, and clean water. The GB concept was proposed by the World Bank in its Strategic Framework on Development and Climate Change in 2008 to help countries around the world raise capital for strategies for solving the problems of air pollution and global climate change (Trang 2015).

Agriculture and natural resources, Climate change

Autonomous adaptation: Community approaches to coping with climate change

Autonomous adaptation: Community approaches to coping with climate change
Human activity is accelerating climate change, and those most at risk are vulnerable populations in developing countries that are already suffering from chronic poverty. These countries also tend to be ones that contribute only negligibly to climate change. The changing climate is waiting for no one—most of us have already experienced, read, or researched its impacts, and scientists have gravely warned of the consequences in the form of wildfires, droughts, floods, and landslides, among others.

Economics, Governance and public sector management, Health

Can closing borders shut out new COVID-19 strains?

Can closing borders shut out new COVID-19 strains?
In fighting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and, in particular, the new strains that are emerging, many countries have adopted the dual approach of closing borders and increasing domestic surveillance. This might be overkill. In fact, the latter might suffice.