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Shared Prosperity, Inequality, and Poverty in East Asia and Pacific
Shared Prosperity, Inequality, and Poverty in East Asia and Pacific
October 10, 2014Washington DC and online

Watch the live stream discussion in this page.

This event will bring together a distinguished panel of senior policymakers and prominent economists to discuss how countries in developing East Asia and Pacific can address the challenges they face in promoting shared prosperity, reducing inequality and eliminating poverty and the lessons they can use from their past successes.

Among the questions that panelists will address: which policies and programs in EAP countries have contributed to their impressive record of reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity? What new policy and program interventions are needed to reach the extreme poor, especially in large middle-income EAP countries? How can the delivery of basic services be improved, especially at the sub-national level? What mix of policy measures can help sustain growth, while limiting increases in or even reducing inequality as countries in the region transition through middle-income status? Are labor market distortions in EAP stifling formalization of jobs and thereby increasing inequality? What policies can help make growth more conducive to the creation of higher-productivity jobs?


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    Arsenio Balisacan

    Panelist
    Arsenio Balisacan is Secretary, Socioeconomic Planning of the Philippines and Director-General of the Philippine National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Prior to his appointment as socio-economic planning secretary, Sec. Baliscan was dean of University of the Philippines School of Economics where he holds the rank of Full Professor. Sec. Balisacan holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and a B.S. degree in Agriculture (magna cum laude) from the Mariano Marcos State University. His career began as an economist for the World Bank, Washington, D.C. from 1986 to 1987. He served twice as Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Research of the Department of Agriculture (2000-2001 and 2003). He became the Philippine chief negotiator in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agriculture Negotiations and in various bilateral agriculture negotiations. From 2003 to 2009, Sec. Balisacan became director (chief executive) of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study & Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and president of the Human Development Network wherein he was reappointed in the same position in 2012.
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    Ravi Kanbur

    Panelist
    Ravi Kanbur is T. H. Lee Professor of World Affairs, International Professor of Applied Economics and Management, and Professor of Economics at Cornell University. He holds an appointment tenured both in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and in the Department of Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford. He has taught at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Essex, Warwick, Princeton and Columbia. Ravi Kanbur has served on the senior staff of the World Bank, including as Resident Representative in Ghana, Chief Economist of the African Region, and Principal Adviser to the Chief Economist of the World Bank. He has also served as Director of the World Bank's World Development Report. Professor Kanbur's main areas of interest are public economics, development economics and economic theory. His work spans conceptual, empirical, and policy analysis. He is particularly interested in bridging the worlds of rigorous analysis and practical policy making. His vita lists over 250 publications, covering topics such as risk taking, inequality, poverty, structural adjustment, labor, urbanization and agriculture. He has published in the leading economics journals such as American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Economic Theory, and Economic Journal. His latest book is on Development Ideas. The honors he has received include the Quality of Research Discovery Award of the American Agricultural Economics Association and an Honorary Professorship at the University of Warwick. He delivered the Tenth Singapore Economic Review Distinguished Public Lecture. He is the current President of the Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, and a member of the OECD High Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress.
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    Homi Kharas

    Panelist
    Homi Kharas is a Senior Fellow and Deputy Director in the Global Economy and Development program. He studies policies and trends influencing developing countries, including aid to poor countries, the emergence of the middle class, and global governance and the G-20. He has served as the lead author and executive secretary of the secretariat supporting the High-Level Panel, co-chaired by President Sirleaf, President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Cameron, advising the U.N. Secretary General on the post-2015 development agenda (2012-2013). The report, “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development” was presented on May 30, 2013. His most recent co-authored books are Getting to Scale: How to Bring Development Solutions to Millions of Poor People (Brookings Press, 2013); After the Spring: Economic Transitions in the Arab World (Oxford University Press, 2012); and Catalyzing Development: A New Vision for Aid (Brookings Press, 2011). He has published articles, book chapters and opinion pieces on global development policy, global trends, the global food crisis, international organizations, the G20, the DAC and private philanthropy. He has recently served as a member on the International Panel Review Committee on Malaysia’s economic and governance transformation programs (2012); the post-Busan Advisory Group to the DAC co-chairs (2011); the National Economic Advisory Council to the Malaysian Prime Minister (2009-10); and a member of the Working Group for the Commission on Growth and Development, chaired by Professor A. Michael Spence (2007-10). He was a Non-Resident Fellow of the OECD Development Center (2009). Prior to joining Brookings, Dr. Kharas spent 26 years at the World Bank, serving for seven years as Chief Economist for the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific region and Director for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, Finance and Private Sector Development, responsible for the Bank’s advice on structural and economic policies, fiscal issues, debt, trade, governance and financial markets.
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    Axel van Trotsenburg

    Panelist
    Axel van Trotsenburg is Vice President of the East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank. He oversees a portfolio of over $30 billion in loans, grants, credits and trust funds, and leads the World Bank’s strategy in the region. Before this, Mr. van Trotsenburg served as the World Bank’s Vice-President for Concessional Finance and Global Partnerships since August 2009. Mr. van Trotsenburg led the policy negotiations and replenishment process for the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, with a record 16th replenishment of $49.3 billion concluded in December 2010. He also co-chaired the replenishment process for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and managed the largest replenishment increase ever, under GEF 5, with pledges of $4.25 billion. He had policy oversight of the World Bank's trust fund portfolio amounting to $29.4 billion, and oversaw a wide range of global initiatives and innovative financing including: the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), and the pilot Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for pneumococcal vaccines. From July 2007-July 2009, he was Country Director for Colombia and Mexico, and from 2002 to July 2007, Country Director for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. From 1996 to 2001, Mr. van Trotsenburg was Senior Manager of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, the largest and most comprehensive debt relief program for poor countries, and in previous assignments, he also was Senior Country Economist for Côte d’Ivoire and Country Economist for Guatemala.
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    Sudeep Reddy

    Moderator
    Sudeep Reddy is an economics editor in The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau, where he directs coverage of U.S. and international economic news. Reddy joined the Journal as an economics reporter in May 2007 to cover the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve, writing extensively about the U.S. recession and global financial crisis. He later became the Journal's international economics correspondent, covering developments in the global economy, White House, Treasury Department, International Monetary Fund and World Bank, along with international gatherings of the G-7 and G-20 members. He also has served as a lead writer for WSJ.com’s Real Time Economics site. Reddy previously was a Washington correspondent at The Dallas Morning News, covering the intersection of business and politics. In that role, he followed policy developments around energy, transportation, technology and immigration in Congress and regulatory agencies. In his six years at the News, he also covered the energy industry in Texas and business issues before the Texas Legislature. Reddy has received numerous awards for his work in print and online. The Society of American Business Editors and Writers recognized him for coverage of the economy on Real Time Economics. He won awards from the Associated Press Managing Editors for best business reporting and best deadline writing in Texas for stories related to Hurricane Katrina. He also received the National Press Foundation's Thomas L. Stokes Award for Best Energy Writing for coverage of Texas' electricity grid operator that led to indictments of several former officials on organized crime charges. He is a recipient of the national print media award from the National Association of Consumer Advocates for stories about credit scoring. Reddy appears frequently on television and public radio programs including BBC World News America, American Public Media's Marketplace and NPR's Tell Me More. He received a degree in bioethics and history from Brown University, where he was an editor of The Brown Daily Herald.
event details
  • DATE: Friday, October 10, 2014
  • Time: 11 AM - 12:30 PM (EST)
  • location: The World Bank, J B1-080
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