Norio Usui - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Norio Usui

Social Science Research Network, 2010

The ADB Economics Working Paper Series is a forum for stimulating discussion and eliciting feedba... more The ADB Economics Working Paper Series is a forum for stimulating discussion and eliciting feedback on ongoing and recently completed research and policy studies undertaken by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) staff, consultants, or resource persons. The series deals with key economic and development problems, particularly those facing the Asia and Pacific region; as well as conceptual, analytical, or methodological issues relating to project/program economic analysis, and statistical data and measurement. The series aims to enhance the knowledge on Asia's development and policy challenges; strengthen analytical rigor and quality of ADB's country partnership strategies, and its subregional and country operations; and improve the quality and availability of statistical data and development indicators for monitoring development effectiveness. The ADB Economics Working Paper Series is a quick-disseminating, informal publication whose titles could subsequently be revised for publication as articles in professional journals or chapters in books. The series is maintained by the Economics and Research Department.

Social Science Research Network, 2010

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

The key elements of successful interventions for targeted products are: first, with a strong poli... more The key elements of successful interventions for targeted products are: first, with a strong political commitment, establishing an effective dialogue mechanism with the private sector to identify key constraints specific to the target products; second, to the extent possible, incorporating different market mechanisms, for instance, cofinancing, in designing public sector support; and third, setting up clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms with performance indicators and benchmarks. Well-targeted interventions with careful monitoring and rigorous impact assessment will help foster the structural transformation that drives inclusive growth in the Philippines. The changing global and regional economic environment, such as tightening labor market and increasing wages in neighboring countries, the currency appreciation in Japan, and restructuring regional production network after natural disasters, have furnished wider opportunities for the Philippines. The government can be pragmatic enough to capture the opportunities afforded by the changing global and regional economic environment. Recent growth performance and observed structural weaknesses. The Philippine economy has shown strong growth performance over the 2000s. Average annual growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) over the last decade reached 4.8% in real terms, which is much higher than the 2.9% in the 1990s and the 1.7% in the 1980s (Figure 1-1). The growth was led mainly by strong private consumption backed by remittance inflows 1

Norio Usui writes that the recent surge in global commodity prices has brought large windfall rev... more Norio Usui writes that the recent surge in global commodity prices has brought large windfall revenues to resource-rich economies in Asia. Booming economies have, however, faced challenges of macroeconomic stabilization and intergenerational income distribution, and sought a solution to setting up a separate fund outside the budget. This brief assesses the experiences of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in their oil revenue management, and concludes that if there is insufficient control of expenditure or deficits, setting up an oil fund by itself does not guarantee either a prudent stance on overall fiscal management or commitment to savings for future generations. About the Asian Development Bank ADB aims to improve the welfare of the people in the Asia and Pacific region, particularly the nearly 1.9 billion who live on less than $2 a day. Despite many success stories, the region remains home to two thirds of the world's poor. ADB is a multilateral development finance institution owned by 67 members, 48 from the region and 19 from other parts of the globe. ADB's vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve their quality of life. ADB's main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. ADB's headquarters is in Manila. It has 26 offices around the world and more than 2,000 employees from over 50 countries.

Kansai University Review of Economics, 2004

The ERD Technical Note Series deals with conceptual, analytical, or methodological issues relatin... more The ERD Technical Note Series deals with conceptual, analytical, or methodological issues relating to project/program economic analysis or statistical analysis. Papers in the Series are meant to enhance analytical rigor and quality in project/program preparation and economic evaluation, and improve statistical data and development indicators. ERD Technical Notes are prepared mainly, but not exclusively, by staff of the Economics and Research Department, their consultants, or resource persons primarily for internal use, but may be made available to interested external parties.

Resources Policy, 1997

Dutch disease and, more recently, resource curse thesis have been critical issues for development... more Dutch disease and, more recently, resource curse thesis have been critical issues for development of resource abundant economies. This paper attempts a comparison between Indonesia and Mexico in their policy adjustments to the oil boom with special reference to the Dutch disease. There exists a striking contrast, especially in their fiscal, foreign borrowing, and exchange rate policies, and confirms the conventional understanding that a booming government should be conservative, as was the case in Indonesia, in its macroeconomic management to avoid the Dutch disease. Equally significant, investment use of oil revenues to strengthen the tradable sector is another factor responsible for Indonesian success. Mexico provides a clear-cut example of the resource curse thesis, but Indonesia is an exception.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2010

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2011

In the midst of political turmoil subsequent to the 1997 financial crisis, Indonesia’s political ... more In the midst of political turmoil subsequent to the 1997 financial crisis, Indonesia’s political pendulum has swung toward decentralized democracy from centralized autocracy. After the fall of ‘New Order’ Soeharto, long standing frustration with central control, along with ethnic and religious unrests, erupted into secessionist moves in some regions. The new government, led by President Habibie,

research assistance. They also acknowledge suggestions from participants at a workshop on 26 Nove... more research assistance. They also acknowledge suggestions from participants at a workshop on 26 November 2007 at the Asian Development Bank. Dave Dole, Joao Farinha-Fernandes, and Joseph Lim provided very detailed and useful comments. This paper represents the views of the authors, and does not necessarily represent those of the Asian Development Bank, its executive directors, or the countries they represent.

T he Philippines lags behind its neighbor countries in its progress toward poverty reduction and ... more T he Philippines lags behind its neighbor countries in its progress toward poverty reduction and faces challenges in achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets on poverty, education, and health. A sluggish economic growth over the decades, led mainly by the service sector, did not create enough job opportunities to lift Filipino workers and their families out of poverty. The country thus needs a new development model to benefit the poor. While poverty can be best reduced by economic growth, poverty reduction efforts should be supplemented by an adequate social protection system to relieve the poorest of the poor. The Philippines' social protection system has been fragmented, uncoordinated, and poorly targeted. The conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which was initiated in 2007, is currently becoming a centerpiece of the social protection system in the country. This note reviews the economic rationales for transferring a cash grant to poor families contingent on their certain behavior, the major challenges in designing a CCT program, the targeting methodologies, and the impact evaluation designs. It also looks into how the Philippines' CCT program was designed to resolve major difficulties in its design, targeting, and evaluation. Although the program is well prepared having been based on international experiences, it requires an effective implementation and careful monitoring and evaluation to achieve the expected goals. A CCT program with a rigorous impact evaluation offers an excellent opportunity, for both policy makers and development practitioners, to learn what works and what does not work as they search for effective poverty interventions.

The International Economy

Journal of Indonesian Economy and Business, Jan 10, 2004

Setelah beberapa dekade menganut system pemerintahan tersentralisasi, Indonesia merubah system pe... more Setelah beberapa dekade menganut system pemerintahan tersentralisasi, Indonesia merubah system pemerintahan menjadi desentralisasi tahun 2001. Untuk mengidentifikasi berbagai kelemahan dalam kebijakan tersebut, paper ini menganalisis pengalaman 3 tahun pertama era desentralisasi di Lombok tengah, NTB. Lombok Tengah termasuk daerah yang miskin. Fokus analisis pada perencanaan pembangunan, anggaran, dan perubahan organisasi pemerintah daerah. Disamping banyaknya inovasi didaerah, praktek-praktek seperti masa sebelum desentralisasi masih ditemukan. Ketiadaan koordinasi dan keterkatian perencanaan pembangunan secara vertical dan horizontal merupakan masalah besar. Disamping itu, beberapa kegiatan pusat di daerah menyebakan berkurangnya inisiatif daerah. Pemerintah, pembuat kebijakan, harus memahami bahwa desentralisasi yang efektif memerlukan institusi yang secara aktif mengkoordinasi dan memberi peluang konsultasi antara berbagai level pemerintahan.

Social Science Research Network, 2010

Kansai University Review of Economics, 2004

Resources Policy, 1997

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2010

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2011

The International Economy

Journal of Indonesian Economy and Business, Jan 10, 2004