Eradicating Poverty and Promoting Prosperity in a Changing Asia-Pacific

Abstract

This report is produced under a renewed partnership between United Nations (ESCAP), ADB, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support national and regional efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It explores five megatrends that will determine whether everyone will be able to thrive and fulfill their expectations for a better life in the future: regional economic cooperation and integration; rural–urban transitions; demographic changes; ICT access and connectivity; and demand for natural resources. It highlights three entry points to the theme of poverty and prosperity: Managing urbanization for inclusive development Strengthening responses to rural poverty in the context of the transition from rural to urban Infrastructure development Based on this exploration, the report provides four important insights. In a changing development context, confronting the systemic challenges that lead to marginalization and exclusion is critical to eradicating poverty and expanding prosperity. An effective response requires enlarging the scope of our understanding of poverty, beyond income measures. The capacity of governments to balance their responsibilities to different stakeholders, to share the benefits of development and to establish effective partnerships will determine the impact of their implementation efforts. A heightened degree of policy coherence across sectors and between different tiers of governments is needed.