VOA常速英语2008年-ADB Forecasts Solid Growth for Asia in 2008

By Claudia Blume
Hong Kong
02 April 2008

The Asian Development Bank says while Asia will not be immune to the global slowdown, economies in the region will continue to see solid growth in 2008. But the bank warns in its annual outlook that inflation in the region will jump this year. Claudia Blume reports from Hong Kong.

In 2007, Asia posted the highest growth in almost two decades, with regional economies expanding by 8.7 percent on average. The Asian Development Bank predicts that this year, growth will ease to 7.6 percent, as a result of the slowdown in large industrialized economies as well as surging food and fuel prices and a credit crisis in global financial hubs.

But Ifzal Ali, the ADB's chief economist¹, says this year's predicted growth rate is still solid and only slightly below the average of the past five years. He spoke² Wednesday in Hong Kong, where the bank unveiled its annual Asian Development Outlook.

"Growth will remain solid because domestic conditions continue to be favorable. The policy environment is generally positiv," he said.. "Productivity growth linked to economic modernization³ and structural⁴ transformation⁵ that we have witnessed in the last five years and which have barreled Asia forward are likely to continue."

But risks remain. The ADB warns that inflation in the region will accelerate and could reach a 10-year high in 2008. In **, for example, inflation already has reached an 11-year high of 11.7 percent in February. The Bank is worried about the social and political impact of higher prices for food and other essential commodities, as they mainly affect Asia's poor.

Many Asian governments subsidize or control prices of some items to protect consumers and prevent social tensions. The ADB says that Indonesia, for example, spends more on fuel subsidies⁶ than on public health and education combined. Ali says these practices put fiscal⁷ health at risk, so governments need to rethink them.

"We need very quickly exit strategies for subsidies and administrative⁸ prices in developing Asia and replace them with targeted cash transfers for the really needy," he said.

The annual report warned that Asian economies need to address labor⁹ issues to fuel long-term growth. The report notes that many countries in the region have large populations of unemployed¹⁰ young adults, and that at the same time, these economies face shortages of the skilled workers needed for development.

The ADB says governments need to do more to educate young workers and help them find jobs. The report says otherwise, countries will lose out for decades on the talent and productivity of these young adults.

In addition, the report urged countries in Asia to make it easier for migrant workers to move about the region, to help fill gaps in labor supplies.

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

4 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

5 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

6 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

8 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。