The centre of gravity of the global economy is shifting to Asia, transforming both the global and regional economic landscapes. If this momentum can be sustained, Asia can reduce more poverty and account for half of global output, trade, and investment by the middle of this century.
While the fulfillment of this promising outcome, often referred to as the Asian Century, is certainly plausible, Asia's rise is not pre-ordained.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently gathered a group of experts to write the report, Asia 2050 - Realizing the Asian Century, to identify and better understand the multigenerational challenges and risks that Asia needs to overcome to achieve its development potential in the coming decades.
"Given its diversity and heterogeneity, Asia will need to develop its own unique model of regional cooperation and integration that builds on the past positive experience: a market-driven, bottom-up and pragmatic approach that facilitates free regional trade and investment flows.
"This model could build on the ASEAN experience and gradually include more economies over time, eventually resulting in unhindered flow of trade and investments throughout Asia as well as some labor mobility."Download the full report here (pdf).