Democratization and Rent Seeking in IndonesiaAs President Suharto was forced to resign from his office in 1998, the event marked the beginning of a process that would lead up to democracy in Indonesia. Previous studies have analyzed the significant value of political capital for Indonesian firms. However, there is as of yet no study that analyzes the transition from military dictatorship to democracy and how political connections have developed after 1998.
The aim of this project is to analyze the changes in Indonesia’s political landscape and to shed light on how these changes have affected the ability for firms to utilize political connections in order to obtain rent-seeking opportunities. Using earlier studies on the Suharto regime as a starting point, we will trace and identify today’s ties between politicians and the private sector. A goal of this study is to answer the questions of how firms previously related to Suharto or his family are performing today and whether firms previously discriminated against by the regime are performing better now. As recent events have shown, there are strong signs that President Yudhoyono is depending on a group of elites in Jakarta. This dependency is most likely creating opportunities for new political connections to emerge and be exploited by certain firms.
Project manager:
Dr. Anders C. Johansson Funding: Ragnar Söderberg's Foundation
The Challenge to Electoral Authoritarianism and the Ephemeral Value of Political Capital in MalaysiaMalaysia has long been one of the most prominent countries ruled by electoral authoritarianism, a system in which elections are held with certain knowledge that one specific party or coalition will win. In the case of Malaysia, this has been the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, led by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). However, in 2008, BN experienced the worst result in its history. While BN managed to win a majority of the parliamentary seats, it was clear that the voters in Malaysia were showing their dissatisfaction with the long-standing incumbent coalition.
A long period of electoral authoritarianism has resulted in very strong ties between a select number of companies and leading politicians. While previous studies shed light on the importance of political relationships in Malaysia, no one has analyzed the effects of the 2008 election results on such political patronage. We aim to do this by first identifying firms’ political connections and then conduct empirical tests on firm-level effects.
Project manager:
Dr. Anders C. Johansson Funding: Ragnar Söderberg's Foundation
The Economics of Conflict in Southern Thailand
Thailand's southern border provinces is affected by a violent insurgency that has claimed 5 000 fatalities since the outbreak of major violence in 2004. Within this research program, the socio-economic foundations of the conflict is analyzed using quantiative analysis of survey data and satellite images.
Project manager:
Dr. Anders Engvall Funding: Riksbankens Jubileumsfond through the
East Asian Peace Program and STINT
Partner university: Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani Campus
Anti-Corruption Policies in VietnamAfter intiating economic reforms in the 1980's, Vietnam has been among the fastest growing economies in the world. However, the country still face challenges related to governance reforms and anti-corruption policies. The present project performs empirical field studies of ongoing anti-corruption projects, primarily focusing on the education system.
Project manager:
Dr. Anders Engvall Funding: Sida