Impact evaluation aims to answer whether and to what extent a development intervention has delivered its intended effects, thus enabling evidence-based policy making. The desire for more hard evidence of the effectiveness of development interventions has fueled a growing interest in rigorous impact evaluation in the international development community. This report discusses the fundamental challenge of impact evaluation, which is to credibly attribute the impact, if any, to the intervention concerned. It then discusses the merits and limitations of various impact evaluation methods. It also presents a survey of recent applications of impact evaluation, focusing on the typical evaluation problems looked at, methods used, and key findings. The report includes six case studies and outlines practical steps in implementing an impact evaluation.

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 is a history of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral development bank established 50 years ago to serve Asia and the Pacific. Focusing on the region’s economic development, the evolution of the international development agenda, and the story of ADB itself, this book raises several key questions: What are the outstanding features of regional development to which ADB had to respond? How has the bank grown and evolved in changing circumstances? How did ADB’s successive leaders promote reforms while preserving continuity with the efforts of their predecessors? ADB has played an important role in the transformation of Asia and the Pacific the past 50 years. As ADB continues to evolve and adapt to the region’s changing development landscape, the experiences highlighted in this book can provide valuable insight on how best to serve Asia and the Pacific in the future.

The Asian Development Review is a professional journal for disseminating the results of economic and development research carried out by staff and resource persons of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Review seeks high-quality papers with relevance to policy issues and operational matters done in an empirically-rigorous way. Articles are intended for readership among economists and social scientists in government, private sector, academia, and international organizations. This is the second issue to cover the proceedings of ADB's Forum on Capital Controls held on 14 July 2011, and assesses the experiences of selected Asian countries in using de jure capital controls.

This publication outlines the performance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in achieving the goals of Strategy 2030, the institution’s long-term strategic framework. It is the 14th in the series of annual reports that tracks development progress in Asia and the Pacific, assesses ADB's development effectiveness, and identifies areas where the institution's performance needs to be strengthened.

The Asian Development Review is a professional journal for disseminating the results of economic and development research carried out by staff and resource persons of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Review seeks high-quality papers with relevance to policy issues and operational matters done in an empirically-rigorous way. Articles are intended for readership among economists and social scientists in government, private sector, academia, and international organizations. In this issue---Taking Institutions Seriously: Rethinking the Political Economy of Development in the Philippines; Effects of Taxation on Migration: Some Evidence for the ASEAN and APEC Economies; National IQ and National Productivity: The Hive Mind Across Asia; Market Integration in the People's Republic of China; Collective Action, Political Parties, and Pro-Development Public Policy; Infrastructure and Growth in Developing Asia.

The Asian Development Review is a professional journal for disseminating the results of economic and development research carried out by staff and resource persons of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Review seeks high-quality papers with relevance to policy issues and operational matters done in an empirically-rigorous way. Articles are intended for readership among economists and social scientists in government, private sector, academia, and international organizations. In this issue---Creating Good Employment Opportunities for the Rural Sector; Winners and Losers of Multinational Firm Entry into Developing Countries: Evidence from the Special Economic Zones of the People's Republic of China; Rural-Urban Migration and Employment Quality: A Case Study From Thailand; ADB Forum on the Use of Capital Controls.