Asian Development Outlook 2003 Update

The analyses of macroeconomic trends, policy developments, and short-term forecasts for the developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank presented in the Asian Development Outlook 2003 (ADO 2003) published in April 2003 are reviewed in this Update. Despite significant economic shocks linked to the conflict in Iraq, higher oil prices, and the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, growth in the Asia and Pacific region continued to be robust during the first three quarters of 2003. This achievement is remarkable as it occurred despite a weaker than expected recovery in the major industrial countries in the first half of 2003. Hence, the projection for aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2003 is unchanged compared to that made in ADO 2003, and the GDP forecast for 2004 has now been revised upward.