ASEAN Economies: The Road to Recovery

At the start of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the ASEAN region responded relatively well to the crisis compared with other parts of the world, with travel restrictions and country-wide lockdowns keeping the spread at bay.

As of April, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast Southeast Asia's gross domestic product to grow at 4.4% in 2021, which would take the region back to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Dave Albao

Dave is currently leading the implementation of projects focused on reducing ocean plastic funded by USAID, GIZ, and the EU. Activities include advocating for zero-waste and circular enterprises, including micro businesses that are innovating to reduce single-use plastic waste from their operations.

Daniel Suryadarma

Daniel conducts applied economics research in the areas of education, labor, poverty, and social policy. His work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, such as American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, and Journal of Development Economics. His research has informed policy discussions at the Indonesian Vice President’s Office, Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, and various international organizations and donor agencies.

Soyoung Kim

Soyoung Kim is a PhD candidate in International Public Policy at the University of Tokyo and Fox International Fellow at Yale University. Her research interest includes development economics, education economics, and impact evaluation. She has worked as an international consultant at the Asian Development Bank and research associate at the Asian Development Bank Institute. Soyoung holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Sang-Hyop Lee

Dr. Sang-Hyop Lee is Professor and Chair in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii and Senior Fellow at the East-West Center. He has served as Chair of the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) project, which includes research teams in more than 90 countries. His
studies have focused on issues related with population changes, labor markets, and social welfare, with emphasis on Asian economies. He has collaborated with a lot of international organizations as well as many governments around the world. Dr. Lee received his BA and MA

Arin Dutta

Arin Dutta is a Senior Health Specialist at ADB. He is a health economist who has worked extensively on health sector reform and health financing, especially on the scale-up of health insurance schemes. Before ADB, he held lead technical roles while supporting USAID-funded projects across Asia and the Pacific, and sub-Saharan Africa and worked on innovative financing for social protection in Asia. He has experience in health system strengthening, with a focus on primary care and maternal and reproductive health costing and financing.