Are you interested in the recovery process of the crisis struck economies after 1997 Asian financial crisis? If you are, the following web-site may be of interest to you: http://www.aric.adb.org The site is developed by the Asia Recovery Information Centre (ARIC) at Asian Development Bank under the directorship of Dr Juzhong Zhuang, a former CEA(UK) president. The concept of ARIC first emerged at the Meeting on Development Cooperation: Responding to the Asia Crisis held in Sydney on 5 March 1999. This meeting gave high priority to the need for accurate and timely information on the economic and social impacts of the Asian crisis and how the recovery was progressing. Such information was seen as vital to decision-makers in making informed choices on how best to respond to the crisis and to sustain the recovery's momentum. Acting on a proposal by the Australian Government, the meeting agreed that an Internet-based facility would provide the most efficient means of gathering, collating, and disseminating this information. The Australian Government subsequently invited the Bank to house the ARIC at its headquarters in Manila, which ultimately resulted in the Bank's approving a regional technical assistance project for this purpose that was funded entirely through a grant from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). What Does ARIC Do? The objectives of the ARIC web site are to: monitor the social and economic impacts of the Asian crisis and the recovery process with a view to identify the remaining policy agenda for a sustained social as well as economic recovery; provide information on the response of the international community, concerned governments, non-government organizations (NGOs), and civil society-at-large to the crisis; and monitor and contribute to on-going discussions of policy reform in response to the crisis. Which Countries Does ARIC Cover? ARIC's initial coverage includes the five countries most affected by the Asian crisis: Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Over time, this will be expanded to include more of the Asian countries affected by the crisis. What Sort of Information Can I Get from ARIC's Seven Sections? Here's a sample so that you can see for yourself. RECOVERY WATCH - How is Asia's recovery progressing? What do experts think about its sustainability and future path? Will the current pace of financial and corporate restructuring support or limit the Asian rebound? Where are policy reforms headed? This section gives you the answers. And beginning December 1999, browse or download the Asia Recovery Report, ARIC's semi-annual review of the Asian recovery posted each December and June. SOCIAL DIMENSIONS - Are there signs that a recovery from Asia's social crisis has begun? What have Asians done to cope with the social side of the crisis? How much of a cushion have safety nets really provided? Have short-term assistance programs lived up to expectations? What do social indicators tell us? This section has the details. INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE - What are the strategies being used by international agencies to speed up the recovery and reduce poverty? Which issues are they focusing on? What are the areas to be targeted to avoid "reinventing the wheel"? This section gives you a "big picture" overview of the global community's response to the crisis and how it has affected official assistance priorities. COUNTRY FOCUS - Need information about how the recovery is unfolding in a particular country? What plans does the government have for policy reform? How effective are its social protection programs? How do national think tanks view these and other issues? You'll find information on all of these topics and more in this section, as well as country-specific data. ARIC INDICATORS - Need hard data on the recovery? This section has more than 40 economic, financial and social indicators that can be viewed as tables or charts. These are available in monthly, quarterly, or annual format. MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES - Which conferences on the recovery should you be attending? What are their dates and venues? This section has the details. And if you need information about a previous meeting, our calendar looks backwards as well. Link to the full text of those conference papers that were too bulky to carry home. KEY HYPERLINKS - Find the web sites you need without doing a global search. Browse through our hyperlinks by organization. Need links to international agencies? NGOs? National government agencies, statistical offices, or research institutes? They're all right here. Who Are ARIC's Target Users? All Internet users are welcome to use ARIC. But it is designed mainly for: government agencies the international assistance community private-sector users non-government organizations economic policy analysts academic researchers, and journalists *************************************** Dr. Haiyan Song School of Management Stuides University of Surrey GUILDFORD Surrey GU2 5XH England Tel: +44 1483 876353 Fax: +44 1483 256321 **************************************** *************************************** Dr. Haiyan Song School of Management Stuides University of Surrey GUILDFORD Surrey GU2 5XH England Tel: +44 1483 876353 Fax: +44 1483 256321 **************************************** %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%