While overall food security has improved remarkably in Asia in the past decades, food insecurity still prevails in many developing countries in the region. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, over 500 million Asians still suffer from hunger. Sound strategies need to be developed and actions undertaken to fight food insecurity in Asia. This report suggests that institutional differences ...

This report analyzes labor migration trends in Asia and emphasizes the importance of partnerships to promote effective labor migration management. It addresses temporary migrant worker programs, focusing on the Republic of Korea’s Employment Permit System and Malaysia’s Electrical and Electronics industry. It also highlights the key role multilateral and bilateral agreements play in protecting migrant ...

Education is a key driver for sustainable development (UNESCO 2018). The entire global community has been determined to ensure that all human beings can fulfill their potential in dignity and equality; to protect the planet so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations; to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives; to foster peaceful, just, and ...

Infrastructure investment is a key factor for economic development and job creation. Water supply, electricity, road, railways, and airports, among others, will bring in business to the Central Asia and Caucasus region and enhance the welfare of the people. Quality infrastructure refers not only to fiscal quality but also to the new business activities and accompanying employment created along each ...

Energy security, as an interdisciplinary field, focuses on various factors (e.g., energy, natural resources, environmental, economic, social, political/geopolitical, military/security, and technological) and issues (e.g., economic, energy and foreign policies, crises and conflicts, climate change, and sustainable development/energy) affecting countries’ efforts to secure their energy requirements ...

Achieving food security is of utter importance in any nation. However, food insecurity still exists in many developing countries, with Asia home to almost 65% of the world’s undernourished. This calls for urgent action. Studies that examine differences in food security performance among Asian countries are sparse. This book fills this gap by providing cross-country comparative perspectives on food ...

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been growing at an unprecedented rate since economic reforms were initiated in 1978, achieving an average annual real GDP growth rate of 9.7% over the entire period through 2015. As a consequence, the PRC has achieved a remarkably successful transition from one of the poorest countries to upper middle-income status in just over one generation. However, there ...

This report points to the growing number of labor migrants in Asia and examines the policy question of how to best safeguard their rights. Governments and stakeholders in both origin and destination countries have largely recognized their mutual interest in safeguarding labor migrants. Multilateral frameworks have also put this in focus, with safe and orderly migration seen as important. This report ...

Kuznets’ views about the inverted-U relationship between inequality and development and the process of structural transformation have been under the lens of researchers for a long time. Over the last 20 years, immense potential for growth in Asia has been facilitated by structural transformation. However, it remains undecided whether the contribution of structural transformation will stay as one of ...

Infrastructure is a priority around the world for all stakeholders. Infrastructure projects can continue for several years, from planning and construction to the provision of services. As development in Asia and the Pacific accelerates, governments must invest more in infrastructure to ensure continued economic growth. This book draws on lessons and case studies from Japan and worldwide, covering ...