About ABER

The Asian Bureau of Economic Research is a national research program based at the ANU, building off and extending the work and network of EABER-SABER. The success and asset base that EABER and SABER have built up for Australian ideas in Asia, through collaboration, networks, reputation and reach warrant reinvestment with a long term time horizon.

The program aims to contribute to informing policy thinking and decision-making across the region by facilitating high-level research and dialogue on the development of regional policy strategies, improving regional cooperation in identifying and tackling pressing policy issues and facilitating sustained policy discussion on furthering regional integration.

Additionally, it will support the development of Australia’s official and non-official links with South and East Asian policy communities and facilitate Australian engagement in discussion of development strategies in Asian countries.

Specifically, the outcomes over the life of the project will be:

  • the creation of forums that facilitate the development of relationships, dialogue and information sharing between economic policy thinkers, advisors and practitioners in Australia and the Asian region;
  • contribution to the training of the next generation of scholars from the developing Asian nations and the strengthening of Australian expertise on the Asian region;
  • the consolidation and renewal of academic networks with countries in the region; and
  • the development of a body of credible research and analysis, which is accessible to policy-advisors and decision-makers both in Australia and in the region, that seeks to strengthen Australia’s influence on trade and development policy outcomes.

Core research streams with include

  • Asian integration
    1. AEC, RCEP, APEC, EAS and regional arrangements
    2. trans Asian and trans regional integration
    3. regional arrangements and structural reform
  • Asian Intergenerational issues
    1. demographic challenges
    2. middle income trap
    3. productivity and innovation
    4. environment
  • Asia, the G20 and global trade and financial regimes

The program is funded through the Department of Foreign Affairs, with a whole of government committee advising on priorities in the development of its research agenda. Its research leaders will be Professor Peter Drysdale and Dr Shiro Armstrong who will be supported by a research fellow with experience in the policy and academic world. It will have an International Advisory Board of leading economists from the region. The program is a ten-year program.