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ID:
156966
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| Summary/Abstract |
Malaysia has a federal structure of government, suggesting substantial decentralization. In practice, however, the autonomy of subnational tiers has been systematically undermined through a range of mechanisms examined in this paper, creating a system that is highly centralized in practice. With power concentrated in the Prime Minister’s Department, the elite core of the dominant United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has increased its resilience to political challenges from within and beyond the party. This has come at the expense of developmental gains — subnational governments have insufficient fiscal and administrative capacities to efficiently leverage the theoretical advantages of decentralized decision making. In short, the relationship between tiers of government is optimized to preserve the power of the UMNO elite, rather than deliver governance improvements and comprehensive growth; this has negative implications for Malaysia’s ability to escape the middle-income trap.
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| 2 |
ID:
160385
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| Summary/Abstract |
Kim Jong Un continued to consolidate his power through personnel changes, and North Korean society saw increasing consumerism, along with signs of growing inequality. The economy did well through early 2017 but the subsequent effects of sanctions remained uncertain. North Korea conducted its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile and its sixth nuclear test, triggering heated debate in the US and elsewhere about how to respond. Kim clearly is not going to give up working on weapons of mass destruction.
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