Asian Economic Integration Report 2021: Making Digital Platforms Work for Asia and the Pacific

The Asian Economic Integration Report (AEIR) 2021 examines the initial impact on trade, investment, finance, and people’s mobility across the region as the pandemic struck. The report looks at how regional economies individually or collectively respond to the crisis by, for example, leveraging rapid technological progress, digitalization, and increasing services trade to reconnect and recover. This year’s AEIR theme chapter is on digital platforms and how they can accelerate digital transformation across the region.

Irvin Francis

Irvin Francis is an experienced manager with a demonstrated history of working in well-known Malaysia’s Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO) – MATRADE. He serves the organization for quite some time, which enabled him to obtain strong professionalism in trade-related. He is also experienced in analyzing and forecasting trade data as well as nurturing Malaysian companies towards internationalization.

Declan Magee

Declan Magee is a Principal Economist in the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department in the Asian Development Bank. He co-leads the Building Adaptation and Resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalayas initiative and has led or co-led several other high-level initiatives including the Climate Change Action Plan. He was formerly the Deputy Country Director for ADB in Mongolia. He has 18 years’ experience working as an economist on trade policy, private sector development, macroeconomic reform, and climate change.

Jyoti Parikh

Jyoti Parikh is a Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change –India and is a recipient of Nobel Peace Prize awarded to IPCC authors in 2007. She served as the senior professor and Acting Director of Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai 1986-2003. IIASA, Austria for 8 years (1980-86, 76-78) and Planning Commission, as a senior energy consultant at New Delhi (1978-80).