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This report informs on CCF's activities in 2019 and progress as of 31 December 2019, in terms of the financial status and operational results; highlights the key issues and lessons, and discusses future directions. Appendix 1 contains the CCF governance structure.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) works across the Asia and Pacific region to strengthen communities and improve lives by supporting governments, businesses, and infrastructure to operate more effectively. Clean energy is an essential resource for driving low-carbon economic growth and for enhancing the quality of life for people in the region. The Pacific Energy Update 2019 describes ADB's work in the energy sector. It highlights how technical assistance and energy sector projects are helping to build resilient, low-carbon economies, while increasing access to clean, reliable power in the Pacific.

This report documents the increase in labor migration in Asia and looks a t how finance and technology can aid its positive impact on home countries. As diasporas increase, governments have reached out to citizens abroad to provide them with financial instruments. Remittance channels have long been consolidated, but financial technology is changing the ways in which migrants remit—reducing fees and opening opportunities for new actors. One occupation driving labor migration, and incurring its own challenges, is work in information technology (IT). This report examines some of the latest developments in financial products and technology aimed at labor migrants from and in Asia, and disc erns the factors determining the success of mobile IT workers from India. The four chapters in this report draw on issues raised and discussed during the Seventh Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia: Finance and Technology to Increase the Positive Impact of Migration on Home Countries, held in Manila on 18–19 January 2017. The event brought together regional experts and policy makers and was co-organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Labour Organization, and the Asian Development Bank. The report's introductory chapter reviews recent regional migration trends. Two statistical annexes provide an overview of migration flows within Asia and between Asia and other regions.

Currently, over 80 million people from Asia and the Pacific live and work outside of their countries of origin. Migration and remittances have both positive and negative effects. For the countries, remittances became an important source of foreign exchange. At the household level, remittances enable families to spend more on education and health. However, migration also has a negative social impact, including the exploitation and abuse of workers. This report explores ways to enhance the welfare of migrant workers as well as ways to improve the productive investments of remittances to support the countries' growth and development.

For many migrant workers, labor migration is not just a one-time, temporary means of livelihood, it has become the way of life. This is illustrated by the fact that among the 1.4 million land-based migrants in 2015, two-thirds comprise of re-hires. The number of new-hires has been increasing as well. In fact, the trend of migrant deployment shows a continuous upward trend except during periods of crises and tight government control. It is quite unlikely that the deployment will peak soon, at least in the medium term. From a public policy standpoint, this requires constant vigilance and informed decision-making with regards to designing policies and programs that look after the welfare of migrant workers. Some argue that while the government administers the deployment and implement strategies to promote the welfare of migrant workers, it also needs to design more clearly as to what really the long-term thrust should be when it comes to labor migration. The non-negligible number of cases of abuse, maltreatment, and even crimes committed against Filipino migrant workers calls for the development of a more defined policy that is less dependent on labor migration and more towards developing local job opportunities. Designing such would require a deeper understanding on why people migrate in the first place. Unfortunately, empirical studies that look at Filipino's motivations and intentions are rare. This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature by examining migration intentions of individuals from a high-emigration rural village in the Philippines. The results provide evidence of a culture of migration among the villagers as shown by the high proportion (at 44% of a sample of 572) of those having plans to leave for overseas work. The motivations for wanting to migrate are largely economic in nature. Earning high income is also the most common basis for choosing the destination. Nevertheless, the study shows that given more local job opportunities, a non-negligible proportion would opt to stay and be with their loved-ones. Interestingly, the desired amount of compensation abroad which roughly represents people's willingness to stay, is not much. The analysis also reveals that migration intentions do not exhibit a simple leave-or-stay dichotomy. Understanding the nuances is essential if policymakers want to shape people's migration-related behavior in its policy interventions.

While economic forces drive much of international migration, social factors are known to significantly facilitate movement. By providing information and other resources, networks reduce the cost and risk associated with international migration. But the influence of migration networks remains a black box that needs to be unpacked simply because these have been treated in the past mostly as unidimensional. In reality, however, networks do not only vary in type but also have structures. This study seeks to examine the structure of migration networks in a migrant-sending in the Philippines and to relate this to the diffusion of migration behavior in the village over time. Such socio-historical lens is an unconventional approach in the analysis of international migration perpetuation. This study shows that the density of the kinship and friendship ties and the network position of pioneer migrants in the village have a role to play in the current distribution of migration behavior in the area. The current diffused characteristic of international migration in the village is likely to have been a function of the initial social configuration of pioneer migrants in the area. This study likewise shows the importance of tie strength in the network-migration relationship. Lastly, network influence on migration is likely to have been influenced by external factors such as policy, migration infrastructure, and macroeconomic forces.

The chairmanship of ASEAN, the regional bloc, is rotated amongst member countries on a yearly basis. This year Singapore assumed the role of ASEAN chair for a year, taking over from the Philippines. In November 2017, when the Prime Minister (PM) of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, symbolically took over the ASEAN chairmanship from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila, he set out Singapore's priorities as Chair. The theme for this year's agenda is, [to be] "Resilient and Innovative."

Currently, over 80 million people from Asia and the Pacific live and work outside of their countries of origin. Migration and remittances have both positive and negative effects. For the countries, remittances became an important source of foreign exchange. At the household level, remittances enable families to spend more on education and health. However, migration also has a negative social impact, including the exploitation and abuse of workers. This report explores ways to enhance the welfare of migrant workers as well as ways to improve the productive investments of remittances to support the countries' growth and development.

High-cost of securing employment abroad is a barrier to cross-border labor mobility for low-skilled workers in developing countries. Migration cost is distributed among many value chain (VC). This Policy Insight highlights the main findings of the study.

PHARMAC frequently claims that it achieves savings through its negotiations practices and approvals process for new medicines. In the 2017 financial year, PHARMAC claims to have achieved $52 million in savings for New Zealand. PHARMAC further claims that between 2005 and 2016, it saved the District Health Boards nearly $6 billion.2 This note provides an explanation and critique of these claims, and a summary of the economic analysis, negotiating strategies, and decision criteria used by PHARMAC as well as the consequences of PHARMAC's approach. It also includes examples that illustrate the trade-offs that are less visible in funding decisions.

The burden of stroke is an important concept to understand because it had a direct bearing on the level of effort warranted to address the problem. Research, funding for which is often motivated by a sense of "the size of the prize", may identify opportunities and interventions to reduce the burden of stroke. Evidence suggests that optimal management of stroke can significantly improve both short-term and long-term outcomes. Strokes are largely preventable, and some progress has been made in reducing key risk factors (such as smoking). Some reduction in the impact of stroke has been achieved in New Zealand in recent years (see section 2.3.1) due mainly to a reduction in mortality from stroke and only in small part to a reduction in the incidence of stroke. With more and more people surviving strokes however, the prevalence of stroke-related disability is expected to increase (Tobias et al. 2007). In turn, this will increase the demand for stroke rehabilitation services as well as the potential total savings associated with optimising stroke rehabilitation as well as secondary stroke prevention. This trend is likely to be reinforced by population ageing.

Migration is a popular phenomenon in Sri Lanka. According to the latest Household and Income Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2016 data, one in every eight households had an internal migrant residing elsewhere in the country, while one in every 14 households had a migrant overseas. The most significant benefit of migration to households left behind is the remittances sent. For instance, in 2016 one in every eight households received interal remittances, while one in every 11 households received foreign remittances in Sri Lanka. At the same time, in 2016, one in every 11 households was affected by natural disasters.

This report is based on the Mon State Rural Household Survey (MSRHS) that was conducted by the Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD) in collaboration with Michigan State University and International Food Policy Research Institute between April and September of 2015. Mon State has the highest out-migration in Myanmar with 21 percent of the population moving out of the country, primarily to neighbouring Thailand. This study surveyed 1,680 households from 10 townships and examined the causes, patterns and consequences of migration. In addition to this survey, a sample from the 2014 Population and Housing Census and other quantitative and qualitative data on Mon State were used in this report in order to provide additional insights on migration patterns and consequences. The results of the analysis suggest that labour migration has both negative and positive consequences for the migrants and their families.

As expected, in the 2nd week of June, the Azerbaijani government started to revise the state budget and make amendments to it. It should be noted that the higher-than-expected prices of hydrocarbon products in global markets have created a basis for the revision of the state budget, a practice frequently seen in the Azerbaijani experience. The main points relevant to public interest can be grouped as follow: - What changes in fiscal policy will occur following the increase in oil prices? - Will spending of oil revenues accelerate? - Which functional expenses will increase most in the case budget expenditures are increased? - Will social expenditures (salaries, funds, pensions and social allowances) increase? The Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) constantly focuses on important social and economic processes in Azerbaijan. In this paper, we will try to answer the questions that are written above based on officially publicized information. We note with regret that the level of public participation in the budget process remains low and the law on amendments of the state budget is not entirely publicized yet, limiting our access to information. It is expected that the law will be discussed in the National Assembly session scheduled for June 29.

The year 2017 posed severe challenges for the economy of Azerbaijan, as it experienced a 3.1% decline in 2016, its first negative GDP growth since 1995. According to initial estimations of EBRD, the economy was expected to experience another negative GDP growth equal to 0.5% in 2017. However, The State Committee of Azerbaijan Republic has announced 0.1 % positive growth in GDP in 2017. The recessionary environment coupled with the continuing fall in oil prices in early 2017 made matters look grim for the country, whose economy is massively dependent on the oil sector. Inflation, according to the State Statistical Committee, is still as high as 12.9%. In the meantime, growth in wages is lagging far behind the inflation rate, which decreases the purchasing power of the population. The trend of declining state budget expenditures stopped this year, with a new amendment in July, after oil prices surged. According to the Ministry of Finance, the deficit of the executed state budget has reached 1,141 million manat or, in terms of dollars, 671.4 million US dollars. As a result, high government spending continues to be a potential obstacle that can hinder the development of the private sector. Ongoing problems in the financial sector and the population's loss of confidence in commercial banks resulted in further bank failures and, together with high interest rates, led to a sizeable contraction of credit. The default of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) due to long-term administrative problems added to the liabilities of the government. Not only the IBA, but also the financial losses of other State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are another factor contributing to the indebtedness of the government. The credit rating of the government was downgraded from Ba2 to Ba1 by Moody's in August, after a sharp decline in economic strength. According to Moody's, the new credit rating "reflects the vulnerability of the economy, government finances and banking system to oil price volatility".