Social problems from Asian crisis to persist

Social problems from Asian crisis to persist

MANILA (Reuters): Economies in Asia may appear to be bottoming out from the regional financial crisis but accompanying social crisis is expected to linger in the coming years, the Asian Development Bank said.

"The social crisis in Asia is still unfolding," ADB chief economist Jungsoo Lee said in a news conference on Friday.

The ADB concluded a two-day conference on a regional study assessing the social impact on countries hardest hit by the financial crisis. These countries were the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea and Laos.

The social problems uncovered by the country reports included rising unemployment, increasing incidence of child abuse and other crimes and the slowdown in the delivery of basic social services, especially in public health institutions.

A particular concern for most of the countries was the drop in enrollment levels in secondary and tertiary schools as young people were forced out of school by financial difficulties. Some had to start working to help support their families.

The report also pointed to a lack of support mechanisms, or "social safety nets" like employment insurance programs in most countries.

Public services were unable to reach the beneficiaries because of inefficient targeting by governments, the study added.

The study also proposes that governments across the region should strengthen their regulatory powers in the financial sector and step up the fight against corruption.

In his opening speech on Thursday, ADB President Tadao Chino said the bank was willing to extend financial aid to remedy problems in the social reform programs of the crisis-hit countries.

"The crisis has potentially longer-term social consequences," Chino said in his speech. "...In our preoccupation with the financial and economic crises we cannot be oblivious of the impact they exert on people's lives and livelihoods."

Lee said 40 percent of the ADB's yearly loans were allocated for social programs.

"We have a general principle of allocating a certain percentage to the social and environment sector but that is not the ceiling," Lee said. "The ADB is willing to support social reform and provide program loans."