Shang-Jin Wei, Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will unveil findings of the Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2014 Report.Key Indicators includes the latest available economic, financial, social, and environmental indicators for 48 regional economies of Asia and the Pacific. Part I of this issue is a special chapter–Poverty in Asia: A Deeper Look. Parts II and III are composed of brief, nontechnical analyses and statistical tables on the Millennium Development Goals and eight other themes.
Extreme poverty in Asia, when measured as income or expenditure of 1.25 per person per day in 2005 purchasing power parity terms, could fall to 1.4% by 2030, if current trends continue.
But the $1.25 per day measure does not fully capture the extent of extreme poverty in the region. Three additional elements should be factored into the poverty picture: the cost of consumption specific to Asia’s poor; food costs that rise faster than the general price level; and vulnerability to natural disasters, climate change, economic crises, and other shocks.
Broadly following the procedure used to determine the conventional $1.25 poverty line–but focusing on data from Asia–produces an estimated Asia specific extreme poverty line of $1.51 per person per day.
While the above factors are not necessarily mutually exclusive, the report finds the combined impact would increase Asia’s estimated extreme poverty rate for 2010 by 28.8 percentage points to 49.5%. This increases the number of poor by about 1.02 billion to 1.75 billion people.
The chief economist will also unveil updated findings from the Asian Development Outlook, popularly known as the ADO. The ADO, generally launched in April, presents an analysis of developing Asia’s recent economic performance plus its prospects for the next 2 years. This October update shows whether these economic forecasts were met, explaining divergence between forecasts and the actual outturn, and firms the economic forecasts for the next 18 months or so.
Opening Remarks - Stewart Beck, President and CEO, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Discussant - Jeff Nankivell, Director General, Programming, Asia Pacific, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
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