Launch of AIIB Publication- Asian Infrastructure Finance 2021-Sustaining Global Value Chains
The 2021 edition of AIIB’s publication Asian Infrastructure Finance Report focuses on global value chains (GVCs) and argues that reports on the demise of GVCs are greatly exaggerated. Accounting for close to half of total exports, GVCs continue to be an important lever for developing countries to transition from investment-led to innovation-led growth. Despite recent slowdown in growth, GVCs continue to expand and transform economies. When COVID-19 struck, existing logistics systems quickly sprung back to action, minimizing the damage and bringing deliveries back to pre-pandemic levels.
The report emphasizes the critical nature of infrastructure quality and capacity to the agility and resilience of GVCs. Case studies of China and India demonstrate the importance of infrastructure-intensive location-based policies to complement sector-oriented horizontal industrial policies in the quest for spatially balanced development.
The report also points to serious challenges. In the wake of the pandemic and faced with trade and geopolitical tensions, multinationals are examining existing networks for vulnerabilities and the effects are still being played out. More importantly, as the world moves toward Net Zero Carbon, firms will increasingly be responsible for the carbon footprint of their networks. This will imply enforcing decarbonization throughout the chains they control for GVCs to remain viable.
Multilateral development banks have a particular responsibility in facilitating investments to help countries join GVCs, assisting in preparing sustainable projects, helping build capacity to manage these projects and protecting global commons.
Speakers
Mr. Ludger Schuknecht
Vice President and Corporate Secretary, AIIB
Schuknecht is responsible for AIIB’s relations with its Members, the Board of Governors, the Board of Directors and other aspects of governance including the admission of new Members. Before joining AIIB, he has held important leadership posts at the national and international levels. Most recently, he was a Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore. Prior to this role, he was Deputy Secretary-General at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and was previously Chief Economist and Director General of Germany’s Federal Finance Ministry. He has extensive experience working with international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. He also acted as the Chief Negotiator for Germany in the founding of AIIB, making him one of the architects of the founding of AIIB and the drafting of its Articles of Agreement. In addition, Schuknecht was Co-chair of the Infrastructure Investment Working Group of the G20. He holds a Vordiplom in Economics from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany; an MA in Economics from George Mason University, USA; and a Ph.D in Economics (summa cum laude) and a Habilitation in Economics from Universität Konstanz, Germany. Schuknecht is from Germany.
Dr. Erik Berglof
Chief Economist, AIIB
Berglof sets the vision and strategy for the Economics Department and leads the planning, implementation and supervision of its work plan in support of the Bank’s mandate. He is the Bank’s inaugural Chief Economist. Prior to joining AIIB in September 2020, he was Director of the Institute of Global Affairs, London School of Economics, and Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2006 to 2015, where he was part of creating and co-led the Vienna Initiative, a European crisis response team credited with mitigating the impact of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. He is an expert in transition economics and institutional transformation through private sector development. He holds a PhD in Financial Economics and an MA in Business and Economics, both from the Stockholm School of Economics. Berglof is a national of Sweden.
Dr. Alicia García-Herrero
Senior Fellow, Bruegel & Chief Economist APAC, Natixis
Alicia García Herrero is a Senior Fellow at European think-tank BRUEGEL. She is also the Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis and a non-resident Senior Follow at the East Asian Institute (EAI) of the National University Singapore (NUS). Alicia is also Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Finally, Alicia is a Member of the Council of Advisors on Economic Affairs to the Spanish Government and an advisor to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s research arm (HKIMR) among other advisory and teaching positions. Alicia holds a PhD in Economics from George Washington University and has published extensively in refereed journals and books (see her publications in ResearchGate, Google Scholar, SSRN or REPEC). Alicia is also very active in international media (BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC and CNN) as well as social media (LinkedIn and Twitter). As a recognition, Alicia was included in the TOP Voices in Economy and Finance by LinkedIn in 2017 and #6 Top Social Media leader by Refinitiv in 2020.
Dr. Chang-Tai Hsieh
Winkelreid Professor of Economics, University of Chicago
Chang-Tai Hsieh conducts research on growth and development. His published papers include “The Life-Cycle of Plants in India and Mexico,” in the Quarterly Journal of Economics; "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," in the Quarterly Journal of Economics; "Relative Prices and Relative Prosperity," in the American Economic Review; "Can Free Entry be Inefficient? Fixed Commissions and Social Waste in the Real Estate Industry," in the Journal of Political Economy; "What Explains the Industrial Revolution in East Asia? Evidence from the Factor Markets," in the American Economic Review; “The Allocation of Talent and US Economic Growth,” in Econometrica; “How Destructive is Innovation?” in Econometrica; and “Special Deals with Chinese Characteristics,” in the NBER Macroeconomics Annual.
Hsieh has been a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Banks of San Francisco, New York, and Minneapolis, as well as the World Bank's Development Economics Group and the Economic Planning Agency in Japan. He is a Research Associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Senior Fellow at the Bureau for Research in Economic Analysis of Development, and a member of the Steering Group of the International Growth Center in London.
He is the recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, an Elected Member of Academia Sinica, and the recipient of the Sun Ye-Fang award for research on the Chinese economy.
Mr. Amitabh Kant
CEO, NITI Aayog
Amitabh Kant is presently CEO of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog). He is a member of the Indian Administrative Service, IAS (Kerala Cadre: 1980 batch). He is the author of Branding India-An Incredible Story and has edited “The Path Ahead- Transformative Ideas for India”. Kant has been a key driver of the “Make in India”, Startup India, “Incredible India” and God’s Own Country” initiatives that positioned India and Kerala State as leading manufacturing and tourism destinations. These campaigns have won several international awards and embraced a host of activities – infrastructure development, product enhancement, private-public partnership and positioning and branding based on extensive market research.
Amitabh Kant has been the Chairman & CEO of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC). The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is being developed by the Government of India as a global manufacturing and investment destination supported by world class infrastructure and enabling policy framework. The DMIC project is aimed at the development of futuristic, smart industrial cities in India which will converge and integrate next generation technologies across sectors. The DMIC cities will address not merely the urbanization requirements of India, but with manufacturing as the main economic base, will also contribute significantly to the economic growth of India.
In his capacity as Secretary (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) Govt. of India, he vigorously drove the Ease of Doing Business initiative and ranking of States on outcome parameters. These initiatives have led to India making a quantum jump in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Index and enabled Indian States to compete in the spirit of competitive federalism. He is the Chairman of the Committee to implement Digital Payment in India.
Mr. Kant has been the recipient of Economic Times Policy Change Agent of the Year Award, the Bloomberg TV Personality of the year Award, the NDTV Administrator of the year Award and the Distinguished Fellowship of the Institute of Directors. He is the recipient of One Globe Award-2016 for leadership in Transforming Governance for the 21st Century. He is also the recipient of Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship awarded by the Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is a Member of the Steering Board of “Shaping the Future of Production Systems” of World Economic Forum. He is also the recipient of Golden Peacock Award for Leadership in Economic Transformation-2017.
Amitabh Kant has worked as CEO, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Corporation, CMD – ITDC, Joint Secretary – Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Secretary – Tourism, Government of Kerala, Managing Director, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, District Collector, Kozikhode and Managing Director, Matsyafed. During his tenure in Kerala he structured the Calicut Airport as a private sector project based on User’s Free and developed the BSES Power Project and Mattanchery Bridge under Private Public Partnership. He was also responsible for introducing new technology (fiberglass crafts and outboard motor) in the fisheries sector and launching beach level auctions which substantially enhanced returns to traditional fishermen.
Amitabh Kant did his schooling from Modern School, Delhi, graduation in Economics (Hons) from St. Stephens, Delhi University and M.A from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is a Chevening Scholar. He has also undertaken a mid-term course with John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmadabad.
Live Q&A
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