Suchergebnisse

This country diagnostic assessment seeks to strengthen financial preparedness for disasters in Fiji, focusing on insurance and other risk transfer instruments. It explores the current application of disaster risk financing solutions by the government, businesses, and individual households; related demand and supply constraints; and opportunities for improvement. The assessment forms one of a series of country diagnostics undertaken using a common methodology to determine the state of the enabling environment for disaster risk financing.

This country diagnostic assessment seeks to strengthen financial preparedness for disasters in Sri Lanka, focusing on insurance and other risk transfer instruments. It explores the current application of disaster risk financing solutions by the government, businesses, and individual households; related demand and supply constraints; and opportunities for improvement. The assessment forms one of a series of country diagnostics undertaken using a common methodology to determine the state of the enabling environment for disaster risk financing.

In December 2017 the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre) at RSIS identified four policy balances that must be struck when using emerging technologies in humanitarian operations. These are as follows: 1. Balancing humanitarian uses of emerging technologies and other public goods; 2. Balancing the needs of disaster responders and those of the disaster affected; 3. Balancing the short- and long-term interests of those receiving aid; 4. Balancing the capacities of emerging technologies to both centralise decision-making and facilitate individual autonomy. These give a framework through which to research and interpret the impact of using emerging technologies for humanitarian purposes. This paper explores the third balance. It draws on two months of field research in Kathmandu, Nepal, between January and March 2019. The research was conducted by Associate Research Fellow Martin Searle, who was assisted by Associate Research Fellow Christopher Chen from 18 to 24 February. The fieldwork involved a mix of semi-structured interviews with government and non-government representatives, informal follow-up meetings and many more conversations with other humanitarian practitioners and academics based in the Nepali capital. The paper also draws on previous field research in the Philippines. Only conclusions with general applicability are reported.

This study is a companion to the report, looking in greater detail at how planning and budgeting in Myanmar occurs in practice, including differences among state/regions and sectors. The research draws from new fieldwork carried out in three states over three months in early 2019, which sought to understand how planning and budgeting decisions are being made in four critical sectors: rural development, roads, electricity, and education. The research also builds on the considerable body of evidence in the reports published by The Asia Foundation and benefits from the experience of the Myanmar Strategic Support Program, implemented by The Asia Foundation in partnership with the Renaissance Institute, which provides ongoing technical support to state and region governments, particularly in relation to public financial management and municipal governance. The report aims to make this critical subject accessible to the general reader, and in doing so, pave the way for a better informed, more technically grounded debate on planning and budgeting in Myanmar. The report also provides clear, implementable recommendations for all stakeholders in the planning and budgeting processes, to strengthen the responsiveness of government budgets to people's needs.

For decades, international humanitarian assistance has been a supply-driven enterprise of rich countries funding multilateral and international organizations to distribute aid in poor and fragile states. To be more demand-driven, we should develop modalities that enable crisis-affected people to access the help they need.

Mongolia's economic growth performance in the period following its transition to a centrally planned economy in 1991 has rivaled that of its fellow transition economies, despite its land-locked geography, lack of product diversity for international trade, and vulnerability of its agricultural production and livestock. Its initial growth performance was, however, compromised by several structural constraints, including legal impediments to the transition process and the growing size and increasing inefficiencies of the public sector.

This major book from ADBI Press aims to provide the latest scientific evidence on infrastructure investment, including new ideas as to how to finance infrastructure. The editors believe the 500-page book will make an important contribution to help Asia and the Pacific region close their infrastructure gap and continue on the path to prosperity.

The Bangladesh Public Financial Management Systems report documents the country's financial management systems covering primarily the areas of budgeting, funds flow, accounting and reporting, and auditing systems. This report also provides insights into the quality of internal control systems, staffing resource capacity, and information technology structure. The intent is to provide project teams and consultants with a better understanding of financial management systems to improve the quality of financial management assessments during project preparation. Find out how high-quality financial management assessments support projects by identifying key risks and enabling the implementation of appropriate actions and reforms to mitigate those risks.

Foreign aid to Indonesia takes the form of loans or grants. The loans can be made either to the government or to state-owned enterprises with a guarantee from the government. This report documents Indonesia's financial management systems covering budgeting, funds flow monitoring and analysis, accounting and reporting, and auditing. It also provides insights into the quality of internal control systems, staff capacity, and information technology structure. The intent is to provide project teams and consultants with a better understanding of financial management systems during project preparation. Find out how high-quality financial management assessments support project implementation through the identification of key risks and enabling the implementation of mitigating actions and reforms.

This report presents the rationale for and design of a city government disaster insurance pool in the Philippines. Insurance pools help governments enhance their financial preparedness for disasters, focusing on the provision of rapid post-disaster financing for early recovery. The Philippine City Disaster Insurance Pool was developed under the guidance of the Department of Finance as part of the 2015 Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Strategy. It utilizes a parametric insurance structure, basing payouts on the occurrence of earthquakes and typhoons according to their physical features, rather than actual losses.

The creation of the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB) understandably grabbed attention throughout the world. The initial response in the US, Japan and some other countries was to view it as a challenge to the post-World War II Bretton Woods order. Many saw it as an attempt by the Chinese to create an alternative institution after having failed to gain greater traction for reform of the existing system of international financial institutions. At the same time, many others see the AIIB as a major event in the history of international financial development with many positive implications for promoting global financial governance. As a Multilateral Development Bank (MDB), AIIB focuses on infrastructure investment in Asia and attempts to construct new mechanisms for international cooperation. It will undoubtedly push for reforms in global financial governance in terms of financial rule-making and loan allocations, and enhance regional financial integration in East Asia.

The announcement that central government is prepared to fund the construction of Auckland's City Rail Link (CRL) has, once again, placed the issue of how to pay for infrastructure onto the public policy agenda. We don't think that building the CRL should be made conditional on a congestion charge, but there is a place for direct pricing of roads in New Zealand's public finance system. The building of the CRL is as good a time as any to introduce a better funding system. Any system should incorporate time-of-use pricing, as that is essential to get congestion off roads during peak periods. Congestion pricing should apply to all roads in a congested area, not just motorways. A uniform congestion charge, rather than fuel taxes, can improve fairness. Remaining equity concerns can be addressed by targeting some of the revenue raised at non-transport activities that benefit low income motorists.

Policy makers are often confronted with a myriad of factors in the investment decision-making process. This issue is particularly acute in infrastructure investment decisions, as these often involve significant financial resources and lock-in technologies. In regions and countries where the infrastructure access gap is large and pubic budgets severely constrained, the importance of considering the different facets of the decision-making process becomes even more relevant. This paper discusses the trade-offs policy makers confront when attempting to prioritize infrastructure investments, in particular with regard to economic growth and welfare, and proposes a methodological framework for prioritizing infrastructure projects and portfolios that holistically equates such trade-offs, among others. The analysis suggests that it is not desirable to have a single methodology, providing a single ranking of infrastructure investments, because of the complexities of infrastructure investments. Rather, a multidisciplinary approach should be taken. Decision makers will also need to account for factors that are often not easily measured. While having techniques that enable logical frameworks in the decision-making process of establishing priorities is highly desirable, they are no substitute for consensus building and political negotiations.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), along with the creation of other institutions such as the New Development Bank, (NDB), the Contingency Reserve Fund and the Silk Road Fund, are major initiatives for China although they will play a complementary role with existing institutions that manage capital exports. There is a tendency to see the AIIB as having two key roles: as a leading agency for implementation of the "Belt and Road" vision expounded by Xi Jinping and as an instrument of "soft power" delivering "public goods" which address the region's infrastructure financing requirement. However, AIIB can only really be understood when placed in the context of the economic circumstances that confront China at home and abroad. Partly out of necessity and partly out of opportunity, Beijing is now laying the foundations for the next stage of China's rise. However, the logic of the "great leap outward", along with the ability to execute, is undermined if the financial surpluses go into reverse due to deterioration in the domestic economy. Xi Jinping's strategy is not without its risks.

Indonesia's parliament has approved a revised 2015 state budget with a significant shift in the spending allocation for infrastructure and subsidies.1 In doubling the capital expenditure, the revised budget clearly reflects the commitment of the new government to fix the economy's underlying infrastructure problems. Overall, the revised budget looks better targeted thanks to the elimination of the premium fuel subsidy and the significant increase in infrastructure spending. Getting the money is only the first step. The upcoming infrastructure projects are expected to pose serious challenges to the government. Within the next few months, the government has to design and execute a well-targeted investment priority, expedite the state budget realization for priority infrastructure projects, and attract private investors. Arguably the most challenging task of all is to supervise project implementation to minimise corruption and ensure the expected results.