Malaysia

Malaysia's structural transformation from low to middle income is a success story, making it one of the most prominent manufacturing exporters' in the world. However,... Show More + like many other middle income economies, it is squeezed by the competition from low-wage economies on the one hand, and more innovative advanced economies on the other. What can Malaysia do? Does Malaysia need a new growth strategy? This paper emphasizes the need for broad structural transformation; that is, moving to higher productivity production in both goods and services. This paper examines productivity growth for Malaysia at the sectoral level, and constructs several measures of the sophistication of goods and services trade, and puts these comparisons in a global context. The results indicate that Malaysia has further opportunities for growth in the services sector in particular. Modernizing the services sector may provide a way out of the middle income trap, and serve as a source of growth for Malaysia into the future. Show Less -

The challenge of sustaining economic growth over the long term is one that only a few countries have been able to surmount. Slowing momentum in countries like Malaysia... Show More + and Thailand has led analysts and policy makers to consider what it would take to lift them out of middle-income status, where other countries have arguably become stuck. The paper examines the role of human capital formation in the quest to sustain economic growth in these two countries. It argues that a good education system is fundamental to equip workers with marketable skills. Malaysia and Thailand have successfully expanded access to schooling, but the quality of education remains an issue. Modern education systems should aim to provide universally-available quality education using the following policies: prioritize budgets to deliver quality and universally-available basic education before expanding higher levels of schooling; provide appropriate incentives and rewards to teachers; permit school autonomy and ensure accountability for results; invest in early childhood development; and consider implementing income-contingent loan financing schemes to expand higher education. Show Less -

The health equity and financial protection datasheets provide a picture of equity and financial protection in the health sectors of low-and middle-income countries.... Show More + Topics covered include: inequalities in health outcomes, health behavior and health care utilization; benefit incidence analysis; financial protection; and the progressivity of health care financing. The tables in this report show how health outcomes, risky behaviors and health care utilization vary across asset (wealth) quintiles and periods. The quintiles are based on an asset index constructed using principal components analysis. Benefit-Incidence Analysis (BIA) shows whether, and by how much, government health expenditure disproportionately benefits the poor. The distribution of subsidies depends on the assumptions made to allocate subsidies to households. Under the constant unit cost assumption, each unit of utilization is assumed to cost the same and is equal to total costs incurred in delivering this type of service divided by the number of units of utilization. Show Less -

This paper explores the stabilisation properties of fiscal policy in Malaysia using a model incorporating nonlinearities into the dynamic relationship between fiscal... Show More + policy and real economic activity over the growth cycle. The paper also investigates how output multipliers for government purchases may alter for different components of government spending. The authors find that fiscal policy in Malaysia has become increasingly pro-cyclical over the last 25 years and establish that the size of fiscal multipliers tend to change over the growth cycle. A 1 Malaysian Ringgit rise in government (investment) spending leads to a maximum output multiplier of around 2.7 during growth recessions, and around 2 in normal times. The returns to government spending in Malaysia are greater when the focus is on public investment, as opposed to consumption. Changes in tax policy are less effective in stimulating economic activity than direct government spending. These results provide empirical backing to conjectures in the recent literature implying that procyclicality in fiscal policy reduces the effectiveness of fiscal actions in emerging markets. Show Less -

Doing business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations.... Show More + It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. In a series of annual reports doing business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. This economy profile presents the doing business indicators for Malaysia. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2011 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January December 2010). Show Less -

The 22 percent increase in the number of fishermen in Malaysia over the last 10 years. In a comparative study on global HIV prevalence among fishermen, researchers estimate... Show More + that HIV prevalence among Malaysian fishermen at 10 times that of the general population. With a view to strengthen epidemic intelligence, this study takes a closer look at HIV risk among fishermen, in particular behavior associated with acquiring and transmitting HIV. It is clear that fishermen in Kuantan are at increased risk for HIV, driven largely by injection drug use. The one?in?four proportion of HIV among injection drug users is nonetheless similar to the 22 percent found in the 2009 integrated bio?behavioral survey among injection drug users conducted in Kuala Lumpur. Findings from this study are in contrast with other studies that found sexual risk to be the primary transmission route among fishermen. Only a quarter of the respondents sampled here were sexually active. Nonetheless, low levels of condom use remain a cause for concern. Further, the study highlights possible systematic bias inherent in the use of reported HIV cases as proxy estimation for prevalence. Show Less -

This report responds to a request by the Government of Malaysia to examine how Malaysia can move up the value chain in the solar and medical device industries. Through... Show More + the lens of long-term development, the overall growth performance of the Malaysian economy has been a resounding success story. The Commission on growth and development listed Malaysia as one of only 13 countries that registered sustained growth of 7 percent or more for a period of 25 years or longer. Much of this growth occurred on the back of a buoyant manufacturing sector, which was spurred by Malaysia's export-led industrialization model reliant on foreign direct investment (FDI). Multinational firms favored the country for its geographical location, political stability, reliable infrastructure, elastic supply of low-cost labor and attractive incentives. As a result of this success, Malaysia became the region's third-most open economy to trade, with the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry accounting at its peak for approximately half of all trade. Moving up the value chain concerns the process of shifting the productive activity of a nation, an industry or a firm into those goods and services that generate higher value added. Moving up the value chain is a highly complex undertaking it requires a fundamental reorientation towards innovation as the fundamental driver of growth, supported by a healthy level of investment in human and physical capital. This process should not be confused with simply producing the same mix of products more efficiently and neither should it be construed as implying a shift in focus towards anything high-tech. Moving up the value chain entails new, more complex, and more skill-intensive activities in the manufacturing of products; it requires conducting these at world-class standards of quality, productivity and competitiveness; and, as long as higher value is created, it does not matter whether these final products are low-tech, medium-tech or high-tech. This study is as much a process as a product. This report is the outcome of the study. The report sets out a conceptual framework, examines the global industry context, analyzes Malaysia's position in the global value chain, identifies industry opportunities and bottlenecks, and suggests policy adjustments. This study is however more than just a report. The study is also accompanied by a process of capacity building to train policymakers and industry participants in global value chain analysis, so that this work can be updated, extended, and replicated to other industries. The study also constitutes an attempt to promote a novel way of thinking about identifying and seizing value chain opportunities in ways that emphasize bottom-up, decentralized, collaborative and consultative approaches. Show Less -

In Japan, the sustainable development of cities and provinces has been vigorously pursued since the late 1990s under various programs through the initiative of the central... Show More + government and local authorities. In 2009, the World Bank launched an urban development initiative called Eco2 Cities: Ecological Cities as Economic Cities (Eco2 Cities Initiative) to help cities in developing countries achieve greater synergistic ecological and economic sustainability. This study, entitled 'Study of Japanese Experiences on Sustainable Urban Development including Pollution Control and Management, Resource/Energy Efficiency and GHG Reduction,' was conducted to cover components A and C of the Eco2 East Asia Program with the following objectives: (i) To undertake a study of Japanese experiences on sustainable urban development including pollution control and management, resource/energy efficiency and GHG reduction (Task 1), and (ii) To coordinate and prepare the Eco2 international conference in Yokohama, Japan, on 21-23 October 2010 (Task 2). This report mainly focuses on Task 1, whose objectives are to compile and analyze Japanese experiences on sustainable urban development, including pollution control and management and resource/energy efficiency and GHG reduction, which are relevant to the Eco2 initiative and its implementation in cities in developing countries, as well as to draw lessons from these experiences for the implementation of the Eco2 initiative. Show Less -

Eco2 Cities (Ecological Cities as Economic Cities) Initiative, adopted as an integral part of the World Bank urban and local government strategy, aims to help cities... Show More + in developing countries achieve greater ecological and economic sustainability in synergy. The conference provided a platform for government policy makers, urban managers and planners, researchers, corporate representatives and international development communities to learn about the Eco2 cities initiative and innovative sustainable urban development practices around the world. The program included a variety of current, significant topics, ranging from sustainable green growth initiatives by selected cities around the world, support for sustainable urban development by development agencies, and the operational and analytical framework of the Eco2 cities initiatives and pilot operations, to experience sharing by Japanese cities, innovative technology of the Japanese private sector, adaptation to climate change and coastal city study, and city?to?city collaboration. As a conclusion of the conference, Yokohama declaration was announced by the city of Yokohama. Show Less -

Eco2 Cities (Ecological Cities as Economic Cities) Initiative, adopted as an integral part of the World Bank urban and local government strategy, aims to help cities... Show More + in developing countries achieve greater ecological and economic sustainability in synergy. The conference provided a platform for government policy makers, urban managers and planners, researchers, corporate representatives and international development communities to learn about the Eco2 cities initiative and innovative sustainable urban development practices around the world. The program included a variety of current, significant topics, ranging from sustainable green growth initiatives by selected cities around the world, support for sustainable urban development by development agencies, and the operational and analytical framework of the Eco2 cities initiatives and pilot operations, to experience sharing by Japanese cities, innovative technology of the Japanese private sector, adaptation to climate change and coastal city study, and city?to?city collaboration. As a conclusion of the conference, Yokohama declaration was announced by the city of Yokohama. Show Less -