World Bank East Asia And Pacific Economic Update 2011

The World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update is a comprehensive, twice-yearly review of the region's economies prepared by the East Asia and Pacific region of the World Bank. In 2011, an estimated 38 million people will move out of poverty, and the proportion of people living on less than US $2 a day expected to decrease to about 24 percent, down two percentage points from 2010. Growth in developing East Asia in the first half of 2011 continued to moderate, mainly due to weakening external demand. Domestic demand in East Asian economies remained the largest contributor to growth, although it is easing driven by the normalization of fiscal and monetary policy. Real GDP in developing East Asia is projected to increase by 8.2 percent in 2011 (4.7 percent excluding China), while growth will slow to 7.8 percent in 2012. Given the outlook for protracted low global growth, any possible stimulus should be fiscally sustainable, well-targeted, and directed at promoting the structural transformation needed to sustain stronger, domestically driven growth. Further investment in disaster management and prevention is also becoming more important for the region.