Malaysian Development Experience

A collection of articles provides sweeping insight into the history and dynamics of Malaysian economic, social and political development addressing such policy issues as the impact of agriculture, education and human resource development.

This is Volume 1 of a 3-volume study, Asian Development Experience, which is expected to contribute to research as well as policy-making in Asia and elsewhere. An earlier version of this study was supported by the Japan-ASEAN Solidarity Fund. External Factors for Asian Development investigates the effects of Japan's foreign aid for development and trade and FDI on ASEAN economies from various perspectives, including historical implications of Japan's involvement, agricultural exports, the development pattern of the Southeast Asian countries, the formation of international production/distribution networks, poverty reduction, upgrading technology, and industrial agglomeration. The contributors analyze trade, FDI and foreign aid from the standpoint of policy coherence at the interface between development co-operation and many other policy areas: trade, agriculture, food safety, fisheries, intellectual property, the environment, international finance, tax policy, migration, and peace and security.

This book examines the various economic, political and developmental policy challenges that Malaysia faces in its shift from a middle income to high-income economy. It covers subjects such as technology, education and skills, the promotion of entrpreneurship, social, monetary policy and governance issues.

"Malaysia has long had an ambivalent relationship to globalization. A shining example of export-led growth and the positive role for foreign investment, the country's political leadership has also expressed skepticism about the prevailing international political and economic order. In this compelling collection, Nelson, Meerman and Rahman Embong bring together a group of Malaysian and foreign scholars to dissect the effects of globalization on Malaysian development over the long-run. They consider the full spectrum of issues from economic and social policy to new challenges from transnational Islam, and are unafraid of voicing skepticism where the effects of globalization are overblown. Malaysia is surprisingly understudied in comparative context; this volume remedies that, and provides an overview of a country undergoing important political change." – Stephan Haggard, Krause Professor, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego

"Malaysia ranks among the most dynamic of the high-growth Southeast Asian economies, but the prospects for Malaysian success have not always seemed so positive. When Malaysia became independent in 1957, it was a poor and deeply troubled country. With weak political and economic structures, it faced the added threat of a Communist Insurgency. Though the decades since have not been kind to many developing countries, Malaysia has managed to avoid the pitfalls that beset others, and has initiated far-reaching policies designed to restructure its society, alleviate poverty, and promote economic growth. With stable government and a vigorous economy, Malaysia today is among the great success stories of East Asian development."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Title first publishedin 2003. This comprehensive book focuses on the prevailing conditions in Asia and Africa under various macroeconomic and sectoral themes in order to provide in depth explanations for the divergent development experiences of the two regions. Seeking to go further than the simple comparison of policies, the book carefully examines the institutional context for policy implementation within which growth and development have proceeded in the regions.