Editorial

The Asian Development Review (ADR) has been an important part of the history of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and of its mission of reducing poverty across Asia and the Pacific since 1983. ADB and the ADB Institute (ADBI) are now undertaking a major effort to raise the profile of the ADR, with the aim of making it one of the best international journals focusing on Asian economic development. We plan to make the ADR a major source of knowledge on development issues in Asia and a contributor to better policy making in the region.

To raise the ADR's profile, we have (1) enhanced existing editorial processes and the journal's organizational structure; (2) revamped the composition of the editorial board, including adding an honorary board; (3) organized and hosted conferences to augment academic research articles; and (4) entered into a partnership with the MIT Press as our new publisher. We intend to foster partnerships with knowledge departments within ADB, regional think tanks and the wider academic community, and to attract internationally renowned scholars to submit articles for publication.

The papers in this issue span a wide range of issues related to economic and social development in Asia. The role of globalization in Asian economic development is very important, and the paper by Srinivasan examines the impacts of real and financial global integration of major Asian economies since the 1980s. The paper by Huang and Wang analyzes the various stages of overseas direct investment and their relationship to levels of economic development. The paper by Horioka, Nomoto, and Terada-Hagiwara examines the implications for Japan and emerging Asia of increased foreign holdings of Japanese government bonds. Hill's paper reviews the ASEAN experience of economic policy reforms, while that by Lin, Yang, and Chandra updates the impact of the PRC on the “flying geese” model of economic development. At the microeconomic level, Sawada uses natural and artefactual experiments to analyze the determinants of collective action and free ridership in Sri Lankan villages. Using household survey data, the paper by Kanbur and Zhuang provides a quantitative analysis of the effects of urbanization on inequality in the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

I would like to invite all of you to help make the Asian Development Review the premier journal on Asia's development issues. I hope you can work with us to ensure that the journal makes an important contribution to the achievement of balanced and sustainable growth in Asia.