Sustainable development in Asia: the current state and policy options

Abstract

Over the past decades, many Asian economies have achieved striking levels of economic growth. This economic growth has been necessary in order to fulfil the material needs and aspirations of growing populations. However, it has also been accompanied by substantial environmental degradation. While the precise interactions between economic growth, economic development and environmental degradation is subject to controversy and a comprehensive assessment of the Asian environment may be required to fully understand this relationship and the present conditions of the environment, it is argued in this paper that the achievement of sustainable economic development and the harmonizing of economic and environmental objectives will not be possible without deliberate policy interventions. Such policies need to incorporate a regional dimension in the form of institution building, in parallel to the concept of regional economic growth. The article focuses on the current problems of environmental and natural resource degradation in Asia, within a possible conceptual framework of impoverishing or unsustainable economic growth, and suggests a set of policies that need to be adopted in order to solve current difficulties.

Determinants of Sustainable Development: A Case Study in Vietnam

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Dynamic Measurement Analysis of Urban Innovation Ability and Ecological Efficiency in China

“…Subsequently, many experts and scholars conducted indepth research on ecology and resources [16][17][18], technology and economy [19,20], and economic consumption [21][22][23] to obtain regional and representative results [24][25][26][27][28][29]. Many studies have illustrated a certain correlation between the regional economy and ecological environment [30][31][32], and in-depth demonstrations and research have been carried out to explore the internal relationship and law governing urbanization level and ecological efficiency [33][34][35][36].…”

A review of innovative bond instruments for sustainable development in Asia

“…However, SDGs look unyielding as 844 million people in Asia are still living close to the poverty line with low access to food, health-care, education and sanitation [Asian Development Bank (ADB) 2017]. Further, economic growth has increased social inequality, land erosion and environmental degradation in Asian countries (Brandon and Ramankutty, 1993; Islam and Jolley, 1996). Environmental degradation has exposed the vulnerability of many Asian countries to the impacts of climate change.…”