The Asia-Pacific Development Journal (APDJ) is published twice a year by the Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The primary objective of the APDJ is to provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience, ideas, information and data on all aspects of economic and social development issues and concerns facing the region and aims to stimulate policy debate and assist in the formulation of policy. The development experience in the Asian and the Pacific region has stood out as an extraordinary example of what can be achieved when policymakers, experts, scholars and people at large harness their creativity, knowledge and foresight. The APDJ has been a proud partner in this process, providing a scholarly means for bringing together research work by eminent social scientists and development practitioners from the region and beyond for use by a variety of stakeholders. Over the years, the Journal has emerged as a key United Nations publication in telling the Asian development story in a concise, coherent and impartial manner to stimulate policy debate and assist in the formulation of policy in the region. This special issue contains five selected discussion papers, edited and revised, from the third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13th to 16th July 2015. It highlights the importance of raising substantial financial resources various sources to invest in the social sectors, infrastructure development and efforts to tackle climate change in order to ensure a transformative change to bring about inclusive growth and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.