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MANILA, Philippines - Asia is not yet out of the woods, as the crises in the US and Europe can drag down the world's most dynamic region if it fails to look beyond traditional export markets and to resolve pestering social ills, according to a renowned economist who has advised the United Nations and emerging economies.
Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Columbia University's Earth Institute, told participants of the 45th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank Board of Governors on Thursday that countries in the region must reduce their dependence on the US and European markets.
"The crisis in Europe and the United States persists. Clearly, we are not simply seeing a business cycle or a post-financial crisis in the North Atlantic but something more structural. The world economy is changing," Sachs said.
"There continues to be a risk the financial crisis especially in Europe and slow growth in general in the high-income world will jeopardize Asia's growth which, if it happened, would then have a significant global multiplier effect because Asia's growth is holding up so much of the growth, other parts of the world as well, especially Latin America and Africa," he said.
Sachs said countries in Asia should look for other export markets, such as Africa, which has a billion-strong market and where economic growth is averaging six to eight percent a year.
He said Asian countries should also aim for sustainable and not only high economic growth, which requires investments in reducing pollution and adapting to climate change.
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