Income insecurity in old age is likely to be one key cause of increased poverty in South Asia, and setting up systems to avert this crisis should be a central public policy goal of each country. Several countries in the region are therefore beginning to evaluate a range of policy options for pension reforms. Given the remarkable similarity of each country in terms of demography, labor markets, and political structures, lessons from both success and failure in pension policy design and implementation are highly portable from one country to another within the region. This publication proposes the establishment of a South Asia Pension Forum that is intended to foster and support intensive policy analysis, research, and consultation on pension reforms and social security within the region.

Social protection is central to the goal of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of achieving the inclusive growth agenda in Asia and the Pacific. The report takes stock of ADB's support for social protection and the progress with implementing ADB's Social Protection Strategy. It presents the institution's social protection interventions from 1996 up to 2013.

The 2010 Annual Report of the Board of Directors to the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reviews ADB's operations, projects, internal administration, financial management and includes a separate report on the activities of the Special Funds of ADB. The report also contains chapters on regional, sectoral and thematic highlights. It also includes the complete financial statements and opinions of the independent auditors, a statistical annex, and appendixes.

In 2011, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $21.72 billion in financing operations, representing a 14.5% increase on 2010 financing, according to the latest Annual Report of the Board of Directors to the Board of Governors. The 2011 Annual Report highlights how ADB has helped developing member countries in Asia and the Pacific make progress toward inclusive growth. It includes a comprehensive discussion on ADB’s operational, administrative, and financial activities in 2011, complete financial statements and opinions of the independent auditors, and a separate report on the activities of the Special Funds of ADB. It also contains chapters on regional, sectoral and thematic highlights.

This paper identifies, quantifies, and assesses fiscal risks in Bangladesh. By performing sensitivity analysis and using stochastic simulations, it measures risks arising from shocks to GDP growth, the exchange rate, commodity prices, and interest rates. It also analyzes specific fiscal and institutional risks, such as those related to the pension system, the issuance of guarantees, the state-owned commercial banks, and the external borrowing and debt management strategy. The paper finds that fiscal aggregates are particularly sensitive to shocks to commodity prices and exchange rates. Other factors that could affect fiscal aggregates are the unfunded pension system and the limited institutional capacity.

This book overviews the issue of population ageing in five countries in South Asia and projects the emerging scenarios. With a new field survey, it also documents existing policies and programs on pensions and social security, and examines their fiscal implications for the economy and society. Ageing of population is an inevitable consequence of the process of demographic transition. Being ahead, the developed regions of the world have long experienced its consequences; but the developing world is only now facing the travails of population ageing. Though the population under the age of 15 years in 2000 was estimated to be 3.3 times the size of the population of 60 years and above, the elderly are expected to surpass the number of children under 15 years by the year 2050. Among the elderly, it is the oldest old—those aged 80 years or more, whose numbers would increase most rapidly. Much of this growth would take place in the poor countries of the world. Five South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal) account for 100 million elderly persons in the beginning of 21st century and it is expected to reach 400 million in 2050. What are the fiscal implications of this tremendous growth for sustaining pensions and social security schemes in South Asia? Are these countries in need of pension reforms? Would these countries be able to provide good health care for the growing population of elderly persons afflicted by multiple diseases and disability? Experts from leading economic research institutions address the issue with a new survey conducted in each country. The book, in effect: Assesses the ageing scenario in five countries in South Asia: past, present, and future; Reviews existing policies and programs on pensions and social security for the elderly; Reports the findings of a sample survey in each of these countries conducted for this work in order to assess the nature, magnitude, and adequacy of various forms of pensions and social assistance; Suggests broad-based comprehensive pension and social security policies in South Asia. .

Reforming pensions in a fiscally and socially sustainable way is a central issue in developing and developed countries alike. This report, produced in collaboration by the OECD and the World Bank, addresses some of the key questions underlying the ...

In western countries, the rising tide of population aging took 100 years to alter the face of societies, but Asia is experiencing comparable changes in not much more than a quarter of a century. Contributors to "The Handbook of Aging" describe the magnitude of these changes and their effects on the aged and on societies attempting to adapt to the dramatic improvements in life expectancy brought on by rapid economic and social transformations. Asia encompasses a vast reach from Pakistan and India to Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and in this book including Australia. "The Handbook of Aging" provides a framework for making sense of the meeting between reverential views of the elderly and contemporary priorities as Asia arrives at the crossroads. The need for innovative approaches to social policy and personal practices is nowhere more evident than in Asian countries, where modern marketing economies have forced hard political choices. The economic tigers of the Asian-Pacific region experienced the aging of their populations ahead of other Asian countries, but solutions reached during times of financial boom are being re-examined as economies come back to earth, with soft or hard landings. "The Handbook of Asian Aging" provides an atlas of the far-reaching changes that are afoot and that will become even more pronounced in the near future.