This paper examines Cambodia’s socioeconomic development since the early 1990s peace settlement. The country’s economic growth has arguably been the fastest among post-conflict societies, driven by the credible restoration of peace and security, large public and private capital inflows,...

The development of the service sector in the People’s Republic of China has not kept pace with the country’s overall economic development. The share of employment in services is still lagging behind that of output and is also below the international norm. Moving from traditional services to...

Studies of the incidence of benefits from public services have rightly stressed the difference between average and marginal benefits. Cross sectional methods of analysis for Lao PDR indicate that for public education and health services, total benefits are highest for the best-off quintile...

This paper studies the effects of the United States’ (US) quantitative easing on Asia by examining capital flows and financial markets. After the global financial crisis, Asian economies with more open and developed capital markets experienced greater swings in capital inflows. In particular,...

This study explores the different approaches to service delivery in fragile states by surveying donors' own evaluations of their existing fragile states policies. Because there is limited understanding of what works in risky environments, monitoring and evaluation are critical components of...

This paper argues that developing Asia is overlooking an opportunity for increased growth and development through trade in business services. Developing Asia would benefit from liberalizing services trade as it has benefited from liberalizing goods trade. This argument rests on these key...

This paper analyzes the role of complexity in production on the level of output and on its rate of growth. We develop an endogenous growth model with human capital accumulation, where increased complexity could exert either a positive or a negative effect on the level of output but always a...

The global financial crisis of 2008–2009 illustrates how financial turmoil in advanced economies could trigger severe financial stress in emerging markets. Previous studies dealing with financial crises and contagion show the linkages through which financial stress are transmitted from...

The purpose of this study is to investigate how firms responded to the deterioration of bank health during the financially turbulent periods in the 2000s in making investment decisions and in meeting demand for liquidity. A rise in uncertainty regarding the ability to obtain external funds may...

Natural disasters are on the rise worldwide. There are more and more intense natural disasters—which are defined to cause at least 100 deaths or to affect the basic survival needs of at least 1,000 people—resulting from floods and storms as well as droughts and heat waves. The Asia and the...