EVENT

Asia's Recovery and Global Imbalances

A seminar co-organized by the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Asian Development Bank

Jong-Wha Lee, Asian Development Bank
C. Fred Bergsten, Peterson Institute
Michael Mussa, Peterson Institute
C. Randall Henning, Peterson Institute

Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC

October 14, 2009

Summary

Left to right: C. Fred Bergsten, Christopher W. MacCormac, Jong-Wha Lee, Michael Mussa, and Randall Henning

Asian Development Bank (ADB) chief economist Dr. Jong-Wha Lee delivered a speech, "Asia's Recovery and Global Imbalances," at the Peterson Institute on October 14, 2009. Following his remarks, Dr. Lee joined in a panel discussion with PIIE Director C. Fred Bergsten and Senior Fellows Michael Mussa and Randy Henning. The topic of Lee's speech is of particular importance, since Asia leads the global recovery and will play a central role in the rebalancing strategy agreed at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh.

The session coincides with the US launch of the update to ADB's flagship publication, the Asian Development Outlook (ADO), released in March 2009. Developing Asia is more resilient than previously expected, and the updated outlook reflects this, increasing the region's economic expansion by half a percentage point to 3.9 percent. Similarly, the 2010 growth estimate has been revised upward from 6.0 percent to 6.4 percent.