ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report was prepared under the overall direction and guidance of Noeleen Heyzer, Under-SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (ESCAP), and under the substantive direction of Nagesh Kumar, Chief Economist of ESCAP.
The core team, led by Aynul Hasan, Officer-in-Charge, a.i., of the Macroeconomic Policy and Development
Division included Shuvojit Banerjee, Sudip Ranjan Basu, Clovis Freire, Alberto Isgut, Nobuko Kajiura, Daniel
Jeongdae Lee, Muhammad Hussain Malik, Margit Molnar, Amitava Mukherjee, Syed Nuruzzaman, Naylin
Oo, Oliver Paddison, Pisit Puapan, Vatcharin Sirimaneetham, Yusuke Tateno and Marin Yari.
ESCAP staff who contributed substantively include: Rae Kwon Chung, Kelly Anne Hayden, Masakazu
Ichimura, Eunyoung Lee, Lys Mehou Loko, Aneta Slaveykova Nikolova, Hitomi Rankine, Lorenzo Santucci
and Ermina Sokou of the Environment and Development Division; Sanjay Kumar Srivastava of the Information
and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division; Maren Andrea Jimenez, Vanessa
Steinmayer and Donovan Storey of the Social Development Division; Artur Andrysiak, Jillian Campbell,
Rikke Munk Hansen, Erik Hermouet and Nongnuch Hiranyapaisansakul of the Statistics Division; Masato
Abe, Witada Anukoonwattaka, Neema Paresh Majmudar, Mia Mikic, Marc Proksch and Heini Amanda
Salonen of the Trade and Investment Division; Shaswat Sapkota and David Smith of the ESCAP Pacific
Office; Yejin Ha of the ESCAP Subregional Office for East and North-East Asia; Matthew Hammill and
Christopher Garroway of the ESCAP Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia; and Katinka
Weinberger of the ESCAP Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture.
Valuable advice, comments and inputs were received from many staff of the United Nations which include:
Phu Huynh and Thetis Mangahas of the International Labour Organization; and Jeronim Capaldo, Pingfan
Hong, Matthias Kempf, Pierre Kohler, Ingo Pitterle, and Rob Vos of the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs, United Nations, New York.
The following consultants provided inputs: S. Mahendra Dev, Director (Vice Chancellor), Indira Gandhi
Institute of Development Research, India; Mohammad Kordbache, Deputy Director, Macroeconomic Bureau,
Management and Planning Organization, the Islamic Republic of Iran; and Biman C. Prasad, Dean,
Professor of Economics and Chair, the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.
The report benefited from extensive comments and suggestions from an eminent group of Asian policymakers,
scholars and development practitioners, acting as external peer reviewers, namely: Cyd N. Tuano-Amador,
Assistant Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Myrna Austria, Vice-Chancellor for Academics and
Research, De La Salle University, Philippines; Ramesh Chand, Director, National Centre for Agricultural
Economics and Policy Research, India; Sadeka Halim, Information Commissioner, Information Commission
Bangladesh, Bangladesh; Tatiana M. Isachenko, Vice-Dean, School of International Business and Business
Administration, Moscow State University of International Relations, Russian Federation; Moinul Islam, Joint
Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh; Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, Institute of Policy Studies
of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka; Ashfaque H. Khan, Principal and Dean, NUST Business School, Pakistan; Yuba
Raj Khatiwada, Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal; Tae Jeong, Program Director, EASTASIA International
College, Yonsei University, Republic of Korea; Helder Lopes, Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Timor-Leste;
Oscar Malielegaoi, Assistant Chief Executive Officer for Budget, Ministry of Finance, Samoa; Piyasak
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Manason, Vice President, Economic and Industrial Research Department, Kiatnakin Bank, Thailand; Riyaz
Mansoor, Assistant Director, Ministry of Economic Development, Maldives; Charlie Namaka, Senior Policy
Analyst, Economic Sector, Department of Strategic Policy Planning and Aid Coordination, Ministry of Prime
Minister, Vanuatu; Siwage Dharma Negara, Researcher, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Indonesia; Kim
Phalla, Director, Economic and Public Financial Department, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cambodia;
Farid Popalzai, Director of Policy and Evaluation, Ministry of Economy, Afghanistan; Yide Qiao, Secretary
General, Shanghai Development Research Foundation, China; Rabi Shanker Sainju, Programme Director,
Economic Analysis and Foreign Aid Coordination Section, National Planning Commission Secretariat,
Nepal; Selwyn Takana, Acting Director, Economic Reform Unit, Ministry of Finance and Treasury, Solomon
Islands; Daw Tenzin, Governor, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, Bhutan; Vo Tri Thanh, Vice President,
Central Institute for Economic Management, Viet Nam; Tshering Wangmo, Planning Officer, Research
and Evaluation Division, GNH Commission, Bhutan; and Zambaga Zorigt, Economist of the Financial and
Economic Policy Department, Ministry of Finance of Mongolia, Mongolia.
Achara Jantarasaengaram, Kiatkanid Pongpanich and Amornrut Supornsinchai of the Macroeconomic Policy
and Development Division, ESCAP, provided research assistance.
The manuscript was edited by Orestes Plasencia and Alan Cooper, Editorial Unit of ESCAP and Peter
Stalker. The graphic design was created by Marie Ange Sylvain-Holmgren, and the layout and printing
were provided by Clung Wicha Press.
Sutinee Yeamkitpibul, supported by Metinee Hunkosol, Anong Pattanathanes and Woranut Sompitayanurak
of the Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division, ESCAP, proofread the manuscript and undertook
all administrative processing necessary for the issuance of the publication.
Francyne Harrigan, Thawadi Pachariyangkun, Chavalit Boonthanom and Mahesh Uniyal of the Strategic
Communications and Advocacy Section, ESCAP, coordinated the launch and dissemination of the
report.
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