Raghu Dharmapuri Tirumala

Raghu has over twenty-five years of experience in infrastructure advisory, management consulting, and academics. He has been advising various government and multilateral organizations in infrastructure financing, policy formulation, and public-private partnership frameworks across urban, transportation, energy, and social sectors. He has operated a Project Development Fund and a Project Investment Fund in his previous corporate role as the CEO of iDeCK. He holds a Ph.D. (on Public Private Partnerships in urban drinking water sector), MBA and Bachelor of Technology degrees. 

Matthias Helble

Matthias' research interests include health, international trade, and development economics. He has co-edited eleven books, including with Oxford University Press. Matthias' research has appeared in flagship publications of international organizations as well as in books and scientific journals. His work includes affiliations with the World Health Organization, Asian Development Bank and Asian Development Bank Institute, World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the UN.

City Finances in Asia and the Pacific: Issues and Reform Options

The current deficit in investment for financing Asia-Pacific infrastructure is estimated to be more than $1 trillion. Roy Bahl, Regents Professor of Economics emeritus at Georgia State University, presented the long-standing constraints and introduced pragmatic steps towards increased local government revenue mobilization for cities in Asia and the Pacific.