Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Development Asia—Tackling Asia's Inequality: Creating Opportunities for the Poor: December 2008
    Development Asia—Tackling Asia's Inequality: Creating Opportunities for the Poor: December 2008
    Development Asia—Tackling Asia's Inequality: Creating Opportunities for the Poor: December 2008
    Ebook185 pages1 hour

    Development Asia—Tackling Asia's Inequality: Creating Opportunities for the Poor: December 2008

    By Asian Development Bank

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    One worrisome trend in Asia is growing inequality—the rich are getting richer much faster than the poor. This issue of Development Asia was brought into sharp focus with the current financial turmoil, which is having a much greater impact on the poor than the rich. How much should inequality be a cause for alarm, if at all? What are the implications of a widening social divide? Should governments do something—or nothing? The stories on this cover theme look at many aspects of a complex issue. Guest economists present the case for and against interventions toward social inclusion, though they tend to support policies that promote equal opportunity and access to good education and basic health services. One of the issue's main stories looks at the role of globalization in increasing well-being at all levels of society, but it also notes that the well-to-do are better placed than the poor to take advantage of the opportunities that globalization offers. Contrasting profiles of India and the Philippines are provided. One shows how strong growth can create jobs for the poor despite structural inequalities. The other illustrates how even robust growth can fail to provide enough jobs because of structural inequalities.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAsian Development Bank
    Release dateDec 1, 2008
    ISBN9789292574208
    Development Asia—Tackling Asia's Inequality: Creating Opportunities for the Poor: December 2008

    Read more from Asian Development Bank

    Related to Development Asia—Tackling Asia's Inequality

    Related ebooks

    Economics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Behind South Africans’ Ability To Save

      Oct 8, 2021

      the financial instructions emanating from the ivory towers of the financial industry of “save more” and “put money aside to invest” is, at best, oblivious to the financial reality that many South Africans live with every day. And at worst, ignorant.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Beyond Economic Growth

      Dec 12, 2018

      Beyond Economic Growth
      7 min read

    • Article

      Sustained Crisis Can Only Be Overcome By Sustained Action

      Jul 28, 2023

      'Sustained crisis’. I came across this terminology in a Harvard Business Review article recently, and it immediately struck a chord with my struggles running my company and also with what I see in the world around me. The Covid-19 pandemic was a glob

      2 min read

    • Article

      Cash In On The ‘Knowledge Bank’

      Jan 13, 2024

      Cash In On The ‘Knowledge Bank’
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Human Side of Poverty Alleviation

      Jun 10, 2021

      Poverty shouldn’t be a controversial subject, but it is. The World Bank, the World Health Organization, the U.S. State Department and pretty much every government in the world has a different definition of what poverty means. In China, absolute pover

      4 min read

    • Article

      Sleepwalking Into A Less Secure Future

      Feb 4, 2023

      Sleepwalking Into A Less Secure Future
      2 min read

    • Article

      ‘Desperate Times Need Desperate Measures Or Then Let's Accept Our Fate’

      Dec 2, 2022

      IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE THE revival of the Forbes Global CEO conference that was held post Covid in Singapore in October this year. It was great to reconnect with global leaders as well as meet Forbes’ extended family from different parts of the worl

      5 min read

    • Article

      More Investment Is Needed In Primary Agriculture

      Feb 5, 2021

      I recently read the ninth edition of the ‘Food Security Monitor 2020 Report’, published by the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). It highlights the food crisis that exist in Africa and emphasises that many parts of the continent rema

      2 min read

    • Article

      2020s ONE BIG IDEA

      Feb 4, 2019

      Leaders in health, technology, the environment and other fields share their most urgent goals

      8 min read

    • Article

      All In One

      Apr 1, 2022

      All In One
      3 min read

    • Article

      Economic Growth: What We Know And Don’t Know

      Jan 31, 2020

      the idea of economic growth is under attack. As the planet heats up, Australia burns and drought in many parts of South Africa continues, many are wondering whether the economic model of the twentieth century is the right one for the twenty-first. So

      3 min read

    • Article

      Rich Young Asians Urged To Build Culture Of Giving 'Boldly' To Tackle Climate Change, Inequality

      Jun 22, 2023

      Asia's super-rich are being urged into philanthropy to help tackle the overlapping crises facing the region, from climate change to poor access to education and healthcare, as mountains of family money are transferred to a younger, more socially cons

      3 min read

    • Article

      Shut Out

      Feb 20, 2020

      Shut Out
      10 min read

    • Article

      Could The Sdgs Deliver On Their Promises?

      Jun 18, 2020

      GARY: The SDGs cover a huge number of seemingly intractable issues. What might surprise many people is that there is a good chance they will succeed. There are six reasons to be optimistic. First, the fact that 191 countries actually agreed the SDGs

      5 min read

    • Article

      Getting Back Up

      Apr 5, 2021

      Getting Back Up
      3 min read

    • Article

      Filling SA’s Leadership Vacuum

      Sep 3, 2021

      South Africa’s unemployment horror story is as clear an indication as any that the country is suffering from a serious lack of effective leadership. There are certainly exceptions to this, both in the public and private sectors, and there are many ex

      2 min read

    • Article

      Poverty Is a Choice

      Jul 29, 2020

      Poverty Is a Choice
      3 min read

    • Article

      Laying a Strong Foundation

      Feb 2, 2024

      The India story has come a long way since the economic reforms of the 1990s to now being the fastest-growing large economy globally, creating economic opportunities for hundreds of millions. But as a nation, it’s equally important for us to ensure th

      3 min read

    • Article

      For The Next Milestone

      Jan 30, 2020

      For The Next Milestone
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Development Asia—Tackling Asia's Inequality

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Development Asia—Tackling Asia's Inequality - Asian Development Bank

      Tackling Asia’s Inequality

      Creating Opportunities for the Poor

      www.development.asia

      © 2008 Asian Development Bank

      ISSN 1998-7528

      ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

      PUBLISHER Ann Quon

      EDITORIAL AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR

      Carolyn Dedolph Cabrera

      EDITOR AT LARGE Ian Gill

      EDITOR Chay F. Hofileña

      EDITORIAL ADVISORS

      Juzhong Zhuang and Rana Hasan

      CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jose R. Dalisay, Jr.

      COPY EDITOR Ma. Priscila del Rosario

      ART DIRECTOR Anthony Victoria

      GRAPHICS

      Gerry Castro, Ronnie Elefaño, Rommel Marilla

      PRESSGROUP HOLDINGS EUROPE S.A.

      PUBLISHER Angus McGovern

      PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

      Richard Forster

      Development Asia features development issues important to the Asia and Pacific region. It is published twice a year by the Asian Development Bank and Pressgroup Holdings Europe S.A. The views expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank. Use of the term country does not imply any judgment by the authors or the Asian Development Bank as to the legal or other status of any territorial entity.

      COMMENTS

      Send your feedback to the editor at editor@development.asia

      ADVERTISING

      To advertise in Development Asia, inquire at developmentasia@pressgroup.net.

      SUBSCRIPTIONS

      Contact subscriptions@pressgroup.net.

      REPRINTS

      Reprinted and translated articles should be credited "Reprinted from Development Asia." Reprinted articles with bylines must have the author’s name. Photographs not owned by ADB require permission from the copyright holder for reprinting. Send a copy of the reprinted article to the editor.

      Development Asia

      Department of External Relations

      Asian Development Bank

      6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City

      1550 Metro Manila, Philippines

      editor@development.asia

      www.adb.org

      Pressgroup Holdings Europe S.A.

      San Vicente, 16-6-1

      46002 Valencia, Spain

      Tel +34 96 303 1000

      Fax +34 96 303 1234

      hq@pressgroup.net

      Cover:

      Note: In this publication, $ refers to US dollars.

      CONTENTS

      How Much Should Inequality Matter?

      Richie Abrina

      One worrisome trend in Asia is growing inequality—the rich are getting richer much faster than the poor. The issue was brought into sharp focus with the current financial turmoil, which is having a much greater impact on the poor than the rich.

      How much should inequality be a cause for alarm, if at all? What are the implications of a widening social divide? Should governments do something—or nothing? Our stories on this cover theme look at many aspects of a complex issue. Our guest economists present the case for and against interventions toward social inclusion, though they tend to support policies that promote equal opportunity and access to good education and basic health services.

      One of our main stories looks at the role of globalization in increasing well-being at all levels of society, but it also notes that the well-to-do are better placed than the poor to take advantage of the opportunities that globalization offers.

      We provide contrasting profiles of India and the Philippines. One shows how strong growth can create jobs for the poor despite structural inequalities. The other illustrates how even robust growth can fail to provide enough jobs because of structural inequalities. We also show how inequality is becoming more divisive in developed economies such as the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong, China.

      What can the poor do to help themselves? We show how, with dedication and patience, the poor can be empowered to choose and implement village-level projects. However, another view argues that the poor are often too focused on the struggle for survival to take adequate advantage of assistance.

      We show how small enterprises in Indonesia, which provide the vast majority of jobs for the poor, need to switch their focus on increasing productivity. We also report on how big business can benefit if they pay closer attention to the needs of the poor.

      We also look at how Asia should cope with the financial turmoil and economic recession in large parts of the West. The slowdown in Asia may increase poverty with likely knock-on effects, such as loss of jobs, especially in the export sector, and falling remittances from overseas. But it may also reduce inequality if the better-off are harder hit by the stock market crashes and drops in property values, as happened in some countries during the Asian crisis in the late 1990s.

      In another report, we show how, although agflation—the massive and sudden jump in food prices—has been overshadowed by financial crisis, it could be sparked off again by any number of factors, leading many to the brink of starvation.

      We also examine the growing role of community journalism in giving more voice to the poor as well as how state-controlled media in the Mekong region are changing as their economies become more market-oriented.

      We hope this issue, which spotlights several other development challenges, is provocative as well as interesting. We welcome your views on Development Asia and what you would like to see in future issues. Address your letters to the editor or e-mail editor@development.asia.

      Ann Quon

      Publisher

      LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

      Biofuels Can Be a Long-Term Solution

      AFP

      Your article, Miracle or Menace, was a little disappointing as it focused more on the menace aspect of biofuels—in terms of being a threat to food security, land rights issues, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and as a temporary solution. The positive side was not presented sufficiently, thus giving the impression that biofuels cannot be a rational, ecological choice to replace fossil fuels. Biofuels can be a long-term solution to our energy situation. Considering that the Philippines is almost completely dependent on imported fuels for transportation and power generation and that the international price of fossil fuels remains high, biofuels are not so much a menace as they are a miracle with the potential of increasing our self-sufficiency in energy and contributing to energy security. Their development is not so much a question of fossil fuel replacement but of complementation.

      The Philippine Energy Plan continues to explore for fossil fuel while aggressively promoting research and development of biofuels. Issues that can render biofuels a menace can be effectively addressed if the biofuels program is selectively and strategically applied, such as no deforestation, food security, and land rights issues if only non-forested, non-fertile lands are used; and, if relevant, indigenous peoples’ rights are observed. On the emission side, whatever the source, biofuels or not, mitigating measures will be put in place anyway. A country has to be clear on its biofuels vision-mission to effectively set its scope and areas and mechanics of implementation.

      Biofuels can be an acceptable alternative, especially in the island provinces that cannot be connected to the national grid and whose only hope is to develop indigenous resources within their financial capacity. An example is the Calamianes island group in northwest Palawan where power plant generators run at a loss and for only a few hours a day as they do not have funds to buy diesel. However, with vast hectares of non-fertile, mountainous, and open public lands, the potential of, say, jatropha-based fuel for power generation is realizable.

      ERIBERTO GARCIA

      Vice-President of the Biofuels Association of the Philippines

      Water Level Doesn’t Rise When Ice Cap

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1