Asia at the Forefront: Growth Challenges for the Next Decade and Beyond

The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) held a launch event for the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook for the Asia Pacific, “Asia at the Forefront: Growth Challenges for the Next Decade and Beyond,” on October 31, 2018.

Changyong Rhee, director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), presented the background paper “The Evolving Role of Trade in Asia: Opening a New Chapter.” Adam S. Posen discussed a new Asian growth model, previewing the upcoming release of the IMF-PIIE conference volume, Sustaining Economic Growth in Asia.

A major common finding of the REO and PIIE’s forthcoming volume is that in a secular stagnation environment, the highly successful Asian growth model of the past few decades is unlikely to remain the blueprint for future growth or for further convergence among emerging and developing economies in Asia. Instead, economic integration within the region is likely to become the critical source for steady demand and productivity improvements. Policymakers should promote intraregional integration through a reduction in nontariff barriers to services trade and the liberalization in investment regimes.

Prior to joining the IMF in February 2014, Rhee was chief economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and secretary general and sherpa of the Presidential Committee for the 2010 G-20 Seoul Summit. He was previously professor of economics at Seoul National University and the University of Rochester.