Governance in Transition: The Political Economy of Subnational Policy Reform in Southeast Asia and China

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian von Lübke
• Subject Area: Political Science
• Term: from 2009 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 134594092

Have decentralization and local democracy led to better government performance?The evidence in the developing world is mixed. Institutional efforts to ‘move governments closer to people’ have produced highly diverse results. Theoretical explanations for these policy variations remain controversial: while some literatures highlight societal or elite-based pressures, others point to differences in subnational economic structures.This study proposes a synthesis of existing agency and structural theories. The main hypothesis is that subnational governments are more service-oriented (and less corrupt) in areas with moderate economic concentration: the right balance of interest group coherence and competition paves the ground for broad-based reform coalitions between societal forces and government leaders. To test this hypothesis, this research will focus on three Asian transition countries with pronounced decentralization reforms: Indonesia, the Philippines, and China. By combining comparative case studies and regression analyses, I seek to shed new light on the political economy of subnational reform. The results of this study will inform decentralization and governance literatures and contribute to regional policy debates on subnational development.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Donald K. Emmerson