Countries in the Asia-Pacific region should make the most of the prevailing stable economic conditions to orient their economies towards a more socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable path, the United Nations development wing in the region has urged.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless economic growth is accompanied by an expansion of decent jobs and strengthening of social safety nets, the region will continue to see a rise in inequality and little progress in eliminating poverty,\u201d\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0Shamshad Akhtar, the Executive Secretary of the ±¬ÁÏÍø Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cWithout concerted efforts, economic growth will continue to come at a significant, and often irreversible, environmental cost,\u201d she added, unveiling the\u00a0year-end update<\/a>\u00a0to the Commission’s flagship publication, the\u00a0Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific<\/a>.<\/p>\n The report highlights that fiscal sustainability is not a concern in most countries but overcoming the wide financing gap \u2013 difference between public investments required to effectively pursue sustainable development and the prevailing trends \u2013 requires fiscal space to be enlarged, including through the mobilization of resources, broadening private sector participation and strengthening capital markets.<\/p>\n It also states that countries can improve governance and fiscal management through effective leverage of technology.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough the use of technology, Governments can improve tax administration and compliance and the implementation of direct benefit transfers while improving public expenditure efficiency,\u201d reads the year-end update.<\/p>\n The report also cautions that while the regional economic outlook for 2018 is \u201cbroadly stable,\u201d private investment remains weak in most countries, partly as a result of overcapacity and debt overhang in the corporate and banking sectors of some major economies.<\/p>\n To achieve a stable and sustained economic growth momentum, higher wages supported by productivity gains and revival of private investment will be needed, it urges.<\/p>\n The Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific (published until 1973 as the Economic Survey of Asia and the Far East) has been\u00a0issued annually<\/a>\u00a0by ESCAP since 1947. It is one of the longest, continuously running reports in the ±¬ÁÏÍø system, monitoring progress on and analysing emerging socioeconomic issues in the region and providing police advice to the decision makers.<\/p>\nRegional economic outlook for 2018 ‘broadly stable’ but private investment remains weak<\/em><\/h5>\n