Pension assets have seen rapid growth world-wide over the past decades, although they suffered large losses during the global financial crisis of 2007 - 2008. Such growth is notably due to both structural and parametric pension reforms since the 1980s. In the Asian region too, the pension market...

In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of financial inclusion and financial literacy in Georgia based on the latest literature, statistical evidence, and recent surveys. The paper reviews current government policy initiatives and strategy documents aimed at...

This paper analyzes the approaches adopted by institutional investors to manage climate risk in their portfolios and proposes policies to increase climate awareness in this large segment of the capital markets. Because of their size and their role as conduit of savers' climate concerns to the...

This paper discusses the business correspondent (BC)-agent banking model in India against the backdrop of community-based rural livelihood programs, its relevance in facilitating financial inclusion in underserved rural geographies, and its potential to address the gender gap in financial...

This study evaluates infrastructure investment and finance in Asia from a global perspective. It provides an overview on infrastructure needs and the various sources of private finance, globally and within Asia, and creates a "bigger picture" for the demand and supply of capital for...

The global economy has been facing a series of adverse shocks in recent years including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, high inflation, and interest rate shocks driven by global monetary policy normalization. The high cost of fossil fuels since 2021,...

Driven by waves of foreign capital inflows and outflows, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand - among several other emerging markets - have resorted to capital control policy since 2006. Are capital controls effective? Controls on capital inflows have been experiencing a renaissance...

This paper discusses what is longevity risk, why it is important, approaches used by the West to manage longevity risk and what lessons can be learnt by Asian countries from the experiences of the West. Increasing and uncertain longevity has emerged as a key risk affecting individuals, pension...

Investment in infrastructure for increasing trade and connectivity in South Asia and Southeast Asia has been impacted by a reduction in commercial bank participation in project financing, which has significantly increased the role of multilateral financial institutions and export credit...

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of most Asian economies. The main obstacle to the development of the SME sector is the lack of stable finance. Considering the bank-dominated characteristic of economies in Asia, banks are the main source of financing, and the lack of a...