Fiscal Asia is the online hub of fiscal data and analysis for Developing Asian economies.

The content is thematically organized to encourage policy discussion among stakeholders within the region.

Fiscal Indicators
ADB Fiscal Research and Publications
Events

Fiscal Asia is the online hub of fiscal data and analysis for Developing Asian economies.

The content is thematically organized to encourage policy discussion among stakeholders within the region.

Fiscal Indicators
ADB Fiscal Research and Publications
Events

Fiscal Indicators

Fiscal Indicator-Revenue and Expenditures-icon

REVENUE and EXPENDITURE

Debt - Fiscal Indicators-icon

DEBT

CLIMATE - FISCAL INDICATOR-icon

ENVIRONMENT

Health - Fiscal Indicators-icon

HEALTH

Fiscal Indicator-Revenue and Expenditures-icon

REVENUE and EXPENDITURE

This dashboard provides data on tax and non-tax revenue statistics and expenditure indicators for selected economies in Developing Asia.

Bulk Download
Debt - Fiscal Indicators-icon

DEBT

CLIMATE - FISCAL INDICATOR-icon

ENVIRONMENT

Health - Fiscal Indicators-icon

HEALTH

Gender Indicators in Developing Asia-icon

GENDER

ADB Fiscal Research and Publications

ADB Fiscal Research and Publications include working papers from the Asian Development Outlook 2022 Theme Chapter, Mobilizing Taxes for Development, as well as research outputs from the Technical Assistance Project on Fiscal Policy for Green and Inclusive Development.

Public Spending and Inclusive Growth: An Empirical Analysis Across Economies

The findings suggest that policymakers should prioritize targeted expenditures on health, education, and social protection—areas that directly and disproportionately benefit disadvantaged people—while also strengthening governance mechanisms to ensure resources reach the intended beneficiaries. This can foster more equitable and resilient economic outcomes in both advanced and developing economies.

Gazi Salah Uddin, Anh H. Le, Md. Bokhtiar Hasan, John Beirne, Donghyun Park

Climate change is a top global priority that demands urgent global action. Sizzling, record breaking temperatures around the world are just one piece of evidence that climate change may pose an existential threat to humankind. This topic has given rise to countless active debates among researchers and policymakers alike. The Paris Agreement, which represents a global response to climate change, aims to limit the rise in global temperatures to below 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels. Since its adoption, climate change has taken center stage on the global economic policy agenda.

Anh H. Le, John Beirne, Donghyun Park, and Gazi Salah Uddin

This paper presents evidence that fiscal dominance tends to be more predominant among emerging economies with low central bank independence, especially those without debt rules and with high debt-to-gross domestic product ratios. High foreign currency-denominated debt also leads to fiscal dominance through pressures for exchange rate stabilization policies. Since 2022–2023, interest rate responses to fiscal imbalances have strengthened, posing challenges for future policy.

 

Donna Faye Bajaro, Jaqueson K. Galimberti, Irfan A. Qureshi

From the Asian financial crisis to the global financial crisis, governments and central banks are working together to shore up economic growth and employment, while keeping inflation and government debt in check.

Fiscal stimulus during crises years came in the form of spending and subsidies, which ballooned debt; monetary stimulus arrived through low interest rates and liquidity injections, which flooded economies with cheap credit. Unprecedented government support during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in public debt like never before.

.

Donna Faye Bajaro, Jaqueson K. Galimberti, Irfan A. Qureshi

This study analyzes the effects of government expenditure composition on economic growth and income inequality in 91 countries from 1990 to 2023, using a Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) model. The findings reveal notable differences between advanced and developing economies. In advanced economies, only infrastructure investment consistently promotes growth, while education spending reduces inequality and healthcare expenditures may increase disparities over time. In developing economies, infrastructure investment has a stronger and more persistent impact on growth, but education and healthcare spending exhibit limited redistributive effects.

Byoung Hoon Seok, Donghyun Park

How did developing Asian economies perform with respect to tax revenue mobilization before and during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic? An analysis of data from developing Asia suggests that both short-run and long-run tax buoyancies, a measure of how tax revenue responds to GDP, were close to one before COVID-19, which is indicative of fiscal sustainability. COVID-19 had a negative impact on the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) and thus its tax base, and spurred a significant fiscal stimulus, including tax measures. At a regional level, the pandemic subtracted a tenth of a percentage point from tax revenue growth after controlling for changes in GDP. Using estimated country-level tax buoyancy coefficients, a counterfactual analysis is undertaken to estimate excess tax revenue losses in 2020 due to COVID-19. The average GDP-weighted excess tax revenue loss is about half a percentage point of pre-pandemic GDP.

Samuel Hill, Yothin Jinjarak, Donghyun Park, Maria Hanna Jaber

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic put significant stress on health systems and brought to the fore the importance of efficient health spending. Among the subregions of developing Asia, East Asia exhibits the highest technical efficiency. Expanding the service coverage of universal healthcare enhances the realization of health outcomes, while leveraging the concentration of population improves the effective utilization of health budgets. Moreover, Caucasus and Central Asia has the highest allocative efficiency. Overall, developing Asia has substantial room for improvement in efficiency, with a primary focus on technical efficiency.

Donna Faye Bajaro, Yothin Jinjarak, Yuho Myoda, Donghyun Park, Pilipinas Quising

Load More

Events

This events page contains links to calls for papers and workshop materials under Technical Assistance Project on Fiscal Policy for Green and Inclusive Development.

Load More

News

Useful Links

The development of this content was made possible with the support of TA 6961: Fiscal Policy for Green and Inclusive Development  Subproject 2: Expenditure Policies and Fiscal Management for Green and Inclusive Growth.
 
Disclaimer
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank.
 
Contact Us
For further details and information about FiscalAsia, email fiscalasia@adb.org