{
  "title": "Asia’s Next Growth Story",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/editor-letter-asias-next-growth-story-gita-bhatt",
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  "summary": "The question for policymakers is how to seize new opportunities to renew Asia’s economic growth",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Overview",
      "content": "- Publication: F&D Magazine; author: GITA BHATT; date: September 2026.\n- Central question: \"how to seize new opportunities to renew Asia’s economic growth.\"\n- Context: Asia is home to \"more than half of humanity\" and a large share of global growth, trade, and innovation. The region ranges from Pacific islands to China and India, and from sophisticated financial centers to largely agricultural societies.\n- Framing: The issue examines choices shaping Asia’s future, with emphasis on Southeast Asia’s economies and the IMF’s annual meetings in Bangkok."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Major drivers and emerging challenges",
      "content": "- Shifting forces:\n  - Trade is fragmenting.\n  - Energy security is a concern.\n  - Populations are aging.\n  - Productivity gains are harder to sustain.\n- Demographics and technology:\n  - \"Some nations can still benefit from expanding labor forces, but all must navigate a more unpredictable geoeconomic landscape.\"\n  - Artificial intelligence, digitalization, and deeper regional integration can open new growth paths.\n  - Younger economies may harness expanding workforces; aging economies can use technology to offset demographic drag, \"as Japan and Korea are doing already.\"\n- Distributional and social challenges:\n  - Recent protests across the region indicate \"Too many young people do not see growth translating into secure work and upward mobility.\"\n  - Quotation: Indonesia’s Muhamad Chatib Basri — \"prosperity on the dashboard coexists with anger on the street.\"\n  - Policy priority: protect the aspiring middle, pursue structural reforms that generate better jobs, and \"nurture the trust between state and citizens.\""
    },
    {
      "heading": "Technology, informal work, and digital finance",
      "content": "- Informal sector and AI:\n  - Anthony Tan (cofounder of Grab) argues AI-enabled technology can improve lives for informal workers—examples given: street vendors, construction workers, and ride-hailing drivers.\n  - Policy caveat: introduce measures appropriate to informal work, not impose rules developed for formal employment.\n- Payments and tokenized finance:\n  - Asia is undertaking a \"pragmatic pivot\" away from the US dollar for trade, embracing local-currency settlement, digital payments, and tokenized finance (Dong He).\n  - Asia’s digital finance revolution made payment systems \"faster and cheaper\" (Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput).\n  - Next phase: build guardrails to ensure resilience and trust when faced with fraud or failure."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Regional cooperation and strategic positioning",
      "content": "- Southeast Asia’s strategic posture:\n  - Ben Bland: the region can no longer rely on the global system of open rules-based trade that propelled its rise; must become more pragmatic and coordinated by aligning industrial policies, scaling AI development, and deepening ties to other middle powers.\n  - Danny Quah: advocates flexible, \"multilateral-enough\" coalitions with aligned incentives.\n- Neighbors' constraints:\n  - India: running up against structural constraints (Duvvuri Subbarao).\n  - China: technology-led growth is a powerful new engine but requires more balanced growth supported by stronger domestic demand and services consumption (Yanliang Miao)."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key findings and policy implications",
      "content": "- Findings:\n  - Asia’s potential remains \"immense\" but growth dynamics are changing.\n  - Technology and regional integration present both opportunities and risks.\n  - Social inclusion and trust in institutions are central to sustained, equitable growth.\n- Policy recommendations:\n  - Harness AI and digitalization to offset demographic headwinds and to support informal workers with tailored measures.\n  - Pursue structural reforms to generate better jobs and protect the aspiring middle.\n  - Deepen regional integration and pragmatic cooperation, including aligned industrial policies and coordinated AI development.\n  - Strengthen digital finance guardrails to maintain resilient and trusted payment systems.\n  - Promote balanced domestic demand and services consumption where applicable to sustain technology-led growth."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Conclusion",
      "content": "- The next growth story for Asia is about resilience and renewal.\n- Southeast Asia can lead through deeper integration, inclusive technology, and pragmatic cooperation.\n- With appropriate policy choices, Asia can define not only the global economy’s recent past, but also its future.\n\nFrom: Asia’s Next Growth Story — GITA BHATT, F&D Magazine, September 2026.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Asia's Next Growth Story\n  - Asia's Next Growth Story (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Asia's Next Growth Story (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- fd-sept26-online\n  - fd-sept26-online (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - fd-sept26-online (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/editor-letter-asias-next-growth-story-gita-bhatt"
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    "Authors: GITA BHATT",
    "Published: September 1, 2026",
    "Publication: F&D Magazine; author: GITA BHATT; date: September 2026.",
    "Central question: \"how to seize new opportunities to renew Asia’s economic growth.\"",
    "Context: Asia is home to \"more than half of humanity\" and a large share of global growth, trade, and innovation. The region ranges from Pacific islands to China and India, and from sophisticated financial centers to largely agricultural societies.",
    "Framing: The issue examines choices shaping Asia’s future, with emphasis on Southeast Asia’s economies and the IMF’s annual meetings in Bangkok.",
    "Shifting forces:",
    "Demographics and technology:",
    "Distributional and social challenges:",
    "Informal sector and AI:",
    "Payments and tokenized finance:",
    "Southeast Asia’s strategic posture:",
    "Neighbors' constraints:",
    "Findings:",
    "Policy recommendations:",
    "The next growth story for Asia is about resilience and renewal.",
    "Southeast Asia can lead through deeper integration, inclusive technology, and pragmatic cooperation.",
    "With appropriate policy choices, Asia can define not only the global economy’s recent past, but also its future.",
    "**Asia's Next Growth Story**",
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