Internship at the Economic Research and Development Impact Department (ERDI) - Regional Cooperation and Integration Division (ERCI) / Macroeconomics Research Division (ERMR)
1. Internship Topic
Scaling up sustainable finance to address climate, biodiversity and disaster financing needs in Asia and the Pacific
2. Summary of Job Description
Financing needs to address environmental and disaster risks in Asia are vast. Asia accounts for about half of global greenhouse gas emissions and is highly vulnerable to climate hazards. Investment needs for climate mitigation and adaptation in Asia are estimated at $1.1 trillion annually . Climate change is also likely to raise the frequency and severity of disasters, with annual losses projected to reach $1 trillion annually . Investments to halt and reverse the acute loss of biodiversity – with losses reaching 60% over the past 50 years – are expected to add another $700 billion to annual financing needs .
Given constrained fiscal space amid high post-pandemic debt levels and elevated interest rates, mobilizing private sector financing is paramount to accelerate the transition to net-zero in Asia. Globally, such private finance is expected to cover 90% of climate mitigation needs, but currently falls short by $800 billion annually . Similarly, financing for biodiversity action lacks by a wide margin, while disaster costs outpace the financing needs for prevention and relief activities.
Against this backdrop, the intern will conduct innovative and policy-relevant empirical research to identify how to mobilize private sustainable and disaster finance for Asia and the Pacific. The project shall draw on granular firm- and financial institution-level data on balance sheets and transactions, where possible. Under the guidance of the internship supervisor, the research project may address questions such as:
• Scaling up sustainable finance through risk disclosure: Do environmental risk disclosures at the firm level help attract foreign climate finance? How does the effect compare with country-level environmental regulations?
• Mobilizing climate finance through Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): Do MDB loans raise additional private sector investments, both for climate finance and more generally? How do loan characteristics such as the sector focus and loan conditionality shape the effect?
• Designing innovative financial products to close the climate financing gap: Which type of financing instruments and risk mitigation products are more promising in filling climate finance gaps in Asia?
• Mitigating international spillovers of environmental transition risk: Which macroeconomic and financial policies prove effective in shielding an economy from international spillovers of environmental transition risk?
• Development of sustainable finance markets: How do bond markets in Asia price disaster risks, and which policies can dampen the disaster impact?
The intern will conduct research on one of the above or closely related questions pertinent to building ADB’s analytical capacities on sustainable and disaster finance, to be mutually agreed with the internship supervisor. Specifically, the intern is expected to:
• Conduct an in-depth literature review to motivate the specific research question and shape the research design
• Produce a detailed research proposal guiding the empirical work
• Gather, structure and process relevant data
• Perform empirical analyses
• Make revisions based on feedback from supervisor and other reviewers
• Prepare a presentation summarizing results, and policy implications
• Prepare related inputs for policy briefs and reports
3. Period of Assignment
Duration:11 weeks
Timing: July 2025 onwards
4. Location
ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines
5. Expected Outcomes
a) Detailed research proposal comprising a motivation, literature review, data needs and empirical identification strategy;
b) Dataset constructed as input for empirical analysis;
c) Empirical analysis conducted and results documented;
d) Presentation of research findings at end of internship;
e) Other related tasks requested by supervising unit, including research-based inputs for policy briefs and reports.
6. Education Requirements
Currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in International Economics, Macroeconomics, or Finance
7.. Relevant Experience and Other Requirements
• Strong interest in and passion for policy-relevant empirical research
• Advanced knowledge of state-of-the-art econometric techniques
• Solid skills in gathering, structuring and processing data, as well as in empirical analysis
• Experience with Bloomberg, Haver or other major databases preferred
• Proficiency in econometric software such as STATA or R
• Proficiency in standard computer applications software, including MS office applications
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
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