Money Matters: Democratization and Economic Growth in Southeast Asia Report

Money Matters: Democratization and Economic Growth in Southeast Asia Report

This report focuses on 10 Southeast Asian economies and how the distribution of monetary capital to each country is influenced by the degree to which it has adopted liberal democratic institutions and systems. It argues they need a new political economy that prioritizes financial inclusion, investment attraction, marginal productivity, trade expansion, political stability, and talented leaders who are able to facilitate the achievement of these goals.
Motorbike riders with face masks are stuck in traffic during the morning peak hour in Hanoi, Vietnam. Motorbike riders with face masks are stuck in traffic during the morning peak hour on May 19, 2020 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Linh Pham/ Getty Images

This report was published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on April 12, 2023, and is reprinted with permission from CSIS.

đź“Ą Download the full report.


This report focuses on how Southeast Asian economies can more effectively attract the vast monetary capital circulating in today’s global market by embracing a new political economy that prioritizes financial inclusion, investment attraction, marginal productivity, trade expansion, political stability, and talented leaders able to facilitate the achievement of these goals.

This report contends that for this new political economy to flourish in Southeast Asia, the distribution of power and other essential public goods will not be effective without the meritocratic selection of talent for positions of leadership and governance—a fundamental dimension of robust liberal democracies. More monetary capital through foreign direct investment (FDI), borrowing, and trade will allow Southeast Asian governments to bolster their domestic liberal democratic systems—enhancing their rule of law, transparency, ease of doing business, and political stability.

These factors increase countries’ trustworthiness, which will then enable them to consistently benefit from the tremendous global financial capital that has historically failed to funnel into the region. Despite the fundamental challenge of finding the right balance between talent and power to promote liberal democratic values and institutions in order to attract monetary capital, one can be cautiously optimistic about Southeast Asia’s prospects in the long run.

Read More

Gi-Wook Shin seated in his office during an interview
Commentary

Video Interview: Gi-Wook Shin Discusses the Economic and Geopolitical Implications of Mobile Talent

APARC and Korea Program Director Gi-Wook Shin joins Gita Wirjawan, a visiting scholar at the Center and host of the “Endgame” video podcast, to share his work on the ways in which countries in Asia and elsewhere can address brain drain, discuss the influence of soft power on South Korea's evolution, and consider the threats posed by demographic and democratic crises to the country’s future.
cover link Video Interview: Gi-Wook Shin Discusses the Economic and Geopolitical Implications of Mobile Talent
Stanford sociologist Kiyoteru Tsutsui discusses Japan on the "Endgame" podcast
Commentary

Video Interview: Kiyoteru Tsutsui Discusses Japan’s Economic Diplomacy in Southeast Asia

Kiyoteru Tsutsui, the Henri H. and Tomoye Takahashi Professor and Senior Fellow in Japanese Studies at Shorenstein APARC, joined Visiting Scholar Gita Wirjawan, host of “Endgame,” a video podcast, to discuss a range of topics, including his work on human rights, the demographic problem in Japan, global democratic decline, and Japan’s approach to Southeast Asia as a projector of soft power.
cover link Video Interview: Kiyoteru Tsutsui Discusses Japan’s Economic Diplomacy in Southeast Asia
Scot Marciel speaking with Gita Wirjawan
Commentary

Video Interview: Scot Marciel Examines Southeast Asia’s Geopolitical Evolution

Ambassador Marciel, the Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow at APARC, joined Visiting Scholar Gita Wirjawan, host of the video podcast Endgame, to discuss the transformations Southeast Asian nations are undergoing and their implications for U.S. policy.
cover link Video Interview: Scot Marciel Examines Southeast Asia’s Geopolitical Evolution