UN report says Asia-Pacific growth will rise slightly in 2013 but policy changes are needed | Outlook data
(The Insider Stories) – The United Nations Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013 forecasts that growth in the Asia-Pacific region will rise this year to 6%, above a rate of 5.6% last year but below 7% in 2011, and says rising economic security requires policy responses from governments, with Indonesia growing slightly faster than the regional rate.
“The global economic conditions remain challenging for the region. Since the beginning of 2013, we have witnessed some measurable improvement in global financial markets, however we have not seen robust improvement in the real economy,” Pingfan Hong, Chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Unit at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), told journalists in New York, a UN statement says.
ESCAP forecasts domestic demand will drive Indonesia’s economy to a growth rate of 6.6% while China’s growth will rise to 8% from 7.8% and India will grow 6.4% in a recovery from a low 5% growth rate last year.
It says the survey also argues that long-term structural issues, such as rising inequality, energy and infrastructure shortages are compounding the regional slowdown and the “structural solution to invigorating the domestic drivers of growth…will lie in making the development process more inclusive and sustainable.”
It says more than 800 million people living in poverty in the region are vulnerable to setbacks in wealthier countries, while rising inequality and natural disasters are also threats. Speculative capital flows driven by loose monetary policies increase the risk of commodity price shocks and threaten food security, which requires governments in the region to provide job guarantees and increase funding for healthcare, pensions and education.
