Donghyun Park - Principal Economist, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, ADB

The Principal Economist from Asia Development Bank’s Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department has said innovation, human capital and infrastructure can lift the productivity growth of middle income economies to pave way to high income.

ADB’s flagship economic publication Asian Development Outlook 2017 (ADO) was launched at UNSW Business School in association with the Institute of Global Finance provides a comprehensive analysis of macroeconomic issues in developing Asia and the Pacific, including growth projections by country and region. This year’s ADO theme, Transcending the Middle Income Challenge, explores the obstacles middle-income economies face to sustain healthy growth and offers policy advice to overcome them.

Donghyun Park was joined by UNSW Business School’s Fariborz Moshirian, Director of the Institute of Global Finance and Roland Rajah, Economist from ADB’s Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office in Sydney. The panel discussed economic prospects for developing Asia and the Pacific, the implication of US monetary policy changes and threats of protectionism.

Decades of rapid growth transformed developing Asia into a largely middle income region, but the pace of expansion has fallen off since the 2008 global financial crisis. Mr Park also stated key risks to the outlook stem from uncertain policy directions in advanced economies.

ADO presents analysis of 45 economies, including the People’s Republic of China, India, and Indonesia. The report also examines the prospects for developing Asia by subregion: Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.

Media contact: Ibrar Khan: 02 9385 9887 | ibrar.khan@unsw.edu.au