Dr Juzhong Zhuang, Deputy Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank, presented the report "The Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2015 Special Chapter: A Smarter Future: Skills, Education, and Growth in Asia" followed by a comment by Aimee Hampel-Milagrosa of the German Development Institut / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE).

The report shows that developing Asia has done well in expanding access to education. But continued economic transformation requires the region to focus more on the quality of education, and to ensure that its workforce has the full complement of skills -- cognitive, noncognitive, and technical -- needed for sustained growth. To achieve this goal, developing Asia must base public financing  on measurable educational outcomes; design curricula that are well matched to student capabilities and labor-market needs; make sure that curricula are delivered well; and ensure that the disadvantaged receive high-quality education. Above all, decisions in these areas must be guided by robust data metrics for better monitoring, performance evaluation, and accountability.

About Juzhong Zhuang:
Juzhong Zhuang is the Deputy Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank. He joined the ADB in 1997, and currently works in the Economics and Research Department. His division produces policy research on long-term development issues facing Asia and the Pacific and supports ADB’s operations to strengthen the economic rationale of its lending and non-lending projects and programs. He has written extensively on Asian development.