Asia and Pacific region
Date: May 2016
Growth in the Asia-Pacific economies is expected to decelerate slightly to about 5.3 percent during 2016–17, according to the latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific, published on May 3, 2016. While Asia remains the engine of the global economy, the moderation in regional growth reflects the sluggish global recovery and slowing global trade. As external demand remains relatively subdued and global financial conditions have started to tighten, domestic demand is expected to be a major driver of activity across most of the region. The report finds that policy settings are appropriate across most of the region, but implementing structural reforms is critical to bolstering potential growth and reducing potential vulnerabilities. The report also covers China’s spillovers to Asia, implications of China’s rebalancing for trade, and inequality in the region.

Asia and Pacific region
Date: May 2015
The economic outlook for Asia and Pacific is stable and robust, with growth expected to hold steady at 5.6 percent in 2015, easing slightly to 5.5 percent in 2016, according to the latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific, published on May 7, 2015. Although Asia will remain the global growth leader, vulnerabilities associated with increased domestic and foreign debt are rising. Potential growth is likely to slow, reflecting weaker productivity gains, and the effects of aging populations and infrastructure bottlenecks in some countries. The report finds that monetary and fiscal policy settings are broadly appropriate, but boosting resilience and potential growth remain top priorities, with structural reforms continuing to play a big role. The report also explores Asia’s role in global value chains and the factors affecting financial integration within Asia.
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Asia and Pacific Region
Date: April 2014
The five Regional Economic Outlooks published biannually by the IMF cover Asia and Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. In each volume, recent economic developments and prospects for the region are discussed as a whole, as well as for specific countries. The reports include key data for countries in the region. Each report focuses on policy developments that have affected economic performance in the region, and discusses key challenges faced by policymakers. The near-term outlook, key risks, and their related policy challenges are analyzed throughout the reports, and current issues are explored, such as when and how to withdraw public interventions in financial systems globally while maintaining a still-fragile economic recovery. These indispensable surveys are the product of comprehensive intradepartmental reviews of economic developments that draw primarily on information the IMF staff gathers through consultation with member countries.

Asia and Pacific region
Date: April 2013
Growth in the Asia-Pacific region shows signs of improving as extreme risks emanating from advanced economies have receded and domestic demand remains resilient, supported by relatively easy financial conditions and robust labor markets. A small and gradual pick-up in growth to over 5.75 percent is projected in the course of 2013. Risks to the outlook from within the region, such as rising financial imbalances and asset prices in some economies, are coming clearer into focus. Although Asia's banking and corporate sectors have solid buffers, monetary policymakers should stand ready to respond early and decisively to shifting risks, and macroprudential measures will also have a role to play. In many Asian economies, some fiscal consolidation could also rebuild the space needed to respond to future shocks and preempt potential overheating pressures from capital inflows. In particular, there is a growing need to make tax and spending policies more efficient. To sustain high growth rates and alleviate the "middle-income trap" across Emerging Asia, the policy agenda will vary by jurisdiction but will also often include strengthening infrastructure investment and reforming goods and labor markets.

Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific
Date: April 2012
Barring the realization of downside risks to the global economy, growth in the Asia and the Pacific region is expected to gain momentum over the course of 2012, according to this report, and now projected at 6 percent in 2012, rising to about 6½ percent in 2013. Stronger economic and policy fundamentals have helped buffer the region's economies against the global financial crisis, by limiting adverse financial market spillovers and ameliorating the impact of deleveraging by European banks, but a sharp fall in exports to advanced economies and a reversal of foreign capital flows would have a severe impact on the region. The region's policymakers now face the difficult task of calibrating the amount of insurance needed to support stable, noninflationary growth. Some Asian and Pacific economies can afford to lengthen the pause in the normalization of their macroeconomic policies that was initiated when the global recovery stalled late in 2011; others may need a faster return to more neutral policy stances. Similarly, the pace of fiscal consolidation should be calibrated to country-specific circumstances. Additional chapters in the report discuss whether China is rebalancing and the particular challenges facing Asian low-income and small island economies.

Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific
Date: April 2011
Asia and Pacific focuses on the policy challenges of managing the next phase of growth after Asia's recovery from the global crisis. The analytical chapters discuss how capital flows to the region may affect the monetary policy transmission mechanism and the role of macroprudential measures in this context, the implications of the Asian supply chain for rebalancing growth across the region, and the policy challenges for Asian low-income and Pacific Island countries. Economic recovery in Asia as a whole has been rapid (8.3 percent in 2010) and fueled by both exports and domestic demand. Looking ahead, growth is expected to continue at a more moderate but also more sustainable pace in 2011 and 2012, led by China and India. Meanwhile, new risks to the outlook have emerged. The full human cost and impact on infrastructure of the mid-March earthquake and tsunami in Japan remain to be determined. The steady response of the Japanese government and people has helped to contain the effects of the disaster on production, but a risk remains of prolonged disruptions in production that could spill over to other Asian economies in the regional supply chain. Moreover, tensions in the Middle East and North Africa and related risk of further oil price spikes could disrupt global growth and affect Asian exports. Finally, pockets of overheating have emerged in Asia, as core inflation and credit growth have accelerated in several Asian economies. The need to tighten macroeconomic policy stances has become more pressing than it was six months ago.
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Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific
Date: April 2010
One year after the deepest recession in recent history, Asia is leading the global recovery. The Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific discusses the near-term outlook for the region, as well as the medium-term policy challenges that countries face. As in many emerging and developing markets, Asia rebounded swiftly during 2009 and in the first quarter of 2010, and in the near term the region is expected to continue leading the global recovery. In the medium term, the global crisis has highlighted the importance for Asia of ensuring that private domestic demand becomes a more prominent engine of growth.
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Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific
Date: May 2009
The May 2009 Asia and Pacific REO looks at the impact of the global financial crisis on Asia. Chapter 1 argues that a sustained recovery will need to await an improvement in the global economy, given Asian economies' specialization on advanced manufacturing and increasing financial ties with the rest of the world. Indeed, Chapter 2 shows that Asia has typically not recovered until exports have started to revive. An expansionary policy stance would provide insurance against the risks that a delayed global recovery could hurt the corporate and bank sectors, as discussed in Chapter 3. Some useful insights on how to deal with the adverse impact of the crisis may come from Japan's experience during the 1990s, discussed in Chapter 4.

Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific
Date: April 2008
2008 is shaping up as a challenging year for Asia. Activity in most economies remains fairly buoyant, but growth in the United States and, to a lesser extent, Europe is slowing sharply. Given its extensive trade and financial linkages with the rest of the world, Asia is unlikely to delink. At the same time, inflation pressures are picking up across much of the region. Moreover, the still-unfolding global financial crisis adds a dimension of uncertainty to the picture, and the balance of risks remains on the downside. However, most countries in the region are well-placed to undertake counter-cyclical policies should these prove necessary.

Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific
Date: April 2007
The recent economic and financial developments and trends in Asia and the Pacific are examined in this latest REO, including issues related to Asia's trade performance, notably in the high-tech sector, and the February-March bout of turbulence in the region's financial markets. The near-term outlook, key risks, and their related policy challenges are analyzed throughout, as well as in special chapters that look more closely at the evolving nature of capital inflows, housing market developments, and the impact of commodity price booms on lower-income economies.

Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific
Date: May 2006
This report gives the IMF's view of the outlook for Asia, identifies the main risks to growth, and considers the key factors that will influence capital inflows. The REO also hones in on the policy challenges facing the region, especially the need to spur domestic demand, so that growth becomes more balanced and sustainable and helps reduce the large global current account imbalances.
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