Xinhua, Manila :
Asian countries and regions must boost productivity in order to maintain strong economic growth, reduce poverty and inequity, and avoid middle-income trap, delegates said at an Asian regional cooperation and integration conference yesterday in Manila, capital of the Philippines.
“It is critical that the region tackles the structural issues underlying slowing productivity,” said Iwan J. Azis, head of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Office of Regional Economic Cooperation, during the conference.
“Deeper regional cooperation and integration can help to do that through better infrastructure, energy, trade, and finance as well as labor mobility,” Azis added.
The two-day conference held at ADB on Monday and Tuesday gathered government officials, private sector leaders, academics, and other experts from around the region to discuss the productivity challenge and the way forward for regional cooperation.
Asia has seen a strong growth in recent decades because of high investments and a young and eager workforce which shifted from rural work to higher-paying manufacturing jobs in the cities in most countries and regions, according to the ADB.
It noted that external conditions such as slower global growth, inadequate infrastructure, and other supply-side constraints have slowed productivity growth in many Asian countries and regions. With the external environment likely to be less benign in coming years, a key challenge for Asia is to reverse that trend and sustain high productivity growth.
Delegates at the conference noted that the contribution by greater regional cooperation to higher productivity depends on the countries and regions concerned, according to a press release from the ADB.
Apart from the issue of productivity, other areas including regional financing mechanisms and economic zones were also discussed.
Asian countries and regions must boost productivity in order to maintain strong economic growth, reduce poverty and inequity, and avoid middle-income trap, delegates said at an Asian regional cooperation and integration conference yesterday in Manila, capital of the Philippines.
“It is critical that the region tackles the structural issues underlying slowing productivity,” said Iwan J. Azis, head of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Office of Regional Economic Cooperation, during the conference.
“Deeper regional cooperation and integration can help to do that through better infrastructure, energy, trade, and finance as well as labor mobility,” Azis added.
The two-day conference held at ADB on Monday and Tuesday gathered government officials, private sector leaders, academics, and other experts from around the region to discuss the productivity challenge and the way forward for regional cooperation.
Asia has seen a strong growth in recent decades because of high investments and a young and eager workforce which shifted from rural work to higher-paying manufacturing jobs in the cities in most countries and regions, according to the ADB.
It noted that external conditions such as slower global growth, inadequate infrastructure, and other supply-side constraints have slowed productivity growth in many Asian countries and regions. With the external environment likely to be less benign in coming years, a key challenge for Asia is to reverse that trend and sustain high productivity growth.
Delegates at the conference noted that the contribution by greater regional cooperation to higher productivity depends on the countries and regions concerned, according to a press release from the ADB.
Apart from the issue of productivity, other areas including regional financing mechanisms and economic zones were also discussed.
