The Malaysia Development Experience Series captures key lessons from Malaysia relevant for emerging economies in Asia, Africa and elsewhere that are transitioning out of poverty and into shared prosperity.
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Technologies and Solutions to Manage Plastic Waste in Small and Remote Islands : Using the Technology Options for Plastic waste in Island Contexts (TOPIC) Toolbox for Islands in Malaysia Key Findings | Download Report (pdf) This study combines a global assessment of plastic waste management on islands with a review of existing technologies and their viability in island contexts to develop the Technology Options for Plastic waste for Island Contexts (TOPIC) Toolbox which was then piloted on five islands in Malaysia. |
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Deep-Dive on Malaysia’s Digital Services Trade Download Report (pdf) This deep dive seeks to explain how the role of digital services trade can be enhanced to contribute to Malaysia’s competitiveness and integration into the global marketplace. |
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Deep-Dive on Malaysia’s Higher Education Services Trade Download Report (pdf) The paper finds that despite numerous liberalization measures, a number of remaining restrictions and limitations continue to impact trade in the sector. The paper finds that the most significant policy challenges likely relate to domestic constraints. To attract foreign students and faculty members and to enhance trade in the higher education sector, it is crucial to ease the visa and immigration processes and rules. |
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Strengthening Services Trade in the Malaysian Economy Download Report (pdf) This report seeks to explain the main constraints that are holding back the services sector in the country. The key finding is that Malaysia’s development strategy needs to pivot to better capture new trade patterns. This will need to address some of the main constraints facing the development of Malaysia’s services sector. |
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SME Program Efficiency Review Download Report (pdf) This study analyses the composition of Malaysia's SME and entrepreneurship support policies so as to identify opportunities to decrease redundancies and to increase efficiencies by ensuring that public support towards SME development responds effectively to the most pressing needs of SMEs. |
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Malaysia : Assessment of the Start-Up Financing Ecosystem Download Report (pdf) This study aims to identify the financing gaps in Malaysia's start-up financing ecosystem and to propose specific policy levers to address the identified constraints on both the availability of and access to early-stage financing. |
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Exploring Nature-related Financial Risks Download Report (pdf) | Press release A better understanding of nature-related financial risks is important for prudential supervision to identify and address any emerging risks in the loan books and investments of banks and other financial institutions. This report assesses the exposure of Malaysian banks to sectors and regions that are highly vulnerable to nature-related risks. This study makes use of both Malaysian and global data. |
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Multidimensional Poverty in Malaysia : Improving Measurement and Policies in the 2020s Download Report (pdf) This paper analyzes the construction and use of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in Malaysia, which the Malaysian government introduced in its national development plan for 2015–2020. It examines avenues for improving the relevance of the MPI in policy discourse by setting deprivation thresholds of the various MPI dimensions (health, education, living conditions, income) at levels more appropriate for an upper-middle-income country such as Malaysia. |
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Non-Performing Loans in East Asia and the Pacific : Practices and Lessons in Times of COVID-19 Download Report (pdf) This report discusses the quality of loan portfolios in the banking sector of EAP jurisdictions and the main vulnerabilities surrounding credit markets that may negatively impact the credit quality of banking portfolios and amplify the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. |
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Malaysia Country Gender Note 2021 Download Report (pdf) |
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Islamic Trade Finance: An Opportunity for Malaysia Download Report (pdf) The World Bank’s Islamic Trade Finance – An Opportunity for Malaysia report highlights the substantial role ITF can play to support trade, foster growth, and accelerate post-pandemic recovery. In addition to its impact on the domestic economy, enhancing ITF can bring benefits to other OIC-member countries and for the global Islamic finance industry in which Malaysia is an established leader. |
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Market Study for Malaysia : Plastics Circularity Opportunities and Barriers Download Report (pdf) Mismanaged plastic waste has growing economic and environmental consequences. Malaysia is playing an active role at the regional level and setting ambitious national goals. This study addresses a critical need for a market assessment of the plastics value chain in Malaysia. |
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Malaysia’s Experience with National Development Planning : Looking Back, Looking Ahead Download Report (pdf) This paper describes and evaluates Malaysia’s experience with National Development Planning (NDP). It discusses Malaysia’s approach to national planning and how it has\ driven economic transformation and helped strengthen social cohesion. |
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Aiming High: Navigating the Next Stage of Malaysia’s Development Key findings | Download Report (pdf) Malaysia has seen great success in growing from a low- to upper-middle-income economy in just one generation. Malaysia’s economy today is significantly different from its transitional and aspirational peers. To compete with other high-income countries, factor accumulation is no longer sufficient to maintain growth. |
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A Silver Lining - Productive and Inclusive Aging for Malaysia Highlights | Download Report (pdf) The report analyzes Malaysia’s demographic, socioeconomic and macroeconomic contexts, as well as three select key policy areas where critical knowledge gaps exist–employment, income security, and aged care. |
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Assessing the Effectiveness of Public Research Institutions : Fostering Knowledge Linkages and Transferring Technology in Malaysia Highlights | Download Report (pdf) A sustained increase in private investment, coupled with improvements in productivity will be necessary to maintain a sustainable economic growth trajectory that enables Malaysia to reach high-income status. |
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Management Practices in Malaysia: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Highlights | Download Report (pdf) The objective of this report is to use data from the World Management Survey (WMS) to benchmark the quality of management practices in Malaysia against comparator countries and investigate the drivers of management practices. |
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Pioneering the Green Sukuk: Three Years On Highlights | Download Report (pdf) This report covers the basics of what makes a green sukuk, a brief history of the developmental work leading to the first green sukuk, followed by an assessment of the green sukuk market to date, before concluding with some key challenges and opportunities and what this could mean for policy makers and regulators. |
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Malaysia’s Domestic Bond Market: A Success Story Download Report (pdf) This report primarily focuses on the development of Malaysia’s local bond market as a source of long-term local currency (LCY) financing. |
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Malaysia - Islamic Finance and Financial Inclusion Highlights | Download Report (pdf) The purpose of this report is to explore the role Islamic finance has played in furthering financial inclusion in Malaysia, with a view to drawing key lessons of experience. |
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Leveraging Islamic Fintech to Improve Financial Inclusion Highlights | Download Report (pdf) The purpose of this report is to evaluate the global developments in the area of fintech solutions by Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) and its impact on financial inclusion within its core markets. |
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Developing a National Green Taxonomy : A World Bank Guide Press Release | Download Report (pdf) The publication will help regulators in emerging economies who seek to “green” their countries’ financial systems. |
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Aspirations Unfulfilled : Malaysia's Cost of Living Challenges Highlights | Download Report (pdf) A study on the impact of the cost of living among Malaysians from various demographics |
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Who is Keeping Score? Estimating the Number of Foreign Workers in Malaysia Highlights | Download Report (pdf) With foreign labor as a key contributor to growth, a better understanding of their numbers can facilitate a more rigorous analysis of their impact on the economy and formulation of evidence-based policies to manage foreign workers and harness the benefits of foreign labor. |
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Public-Private Dialogue in Business Regulation Reform : A Case Study on PEMUDAH Download Report (pdf) This study explores the key tenets of successful public-private dialogues and its importance in the overall development of an economy. |
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Malaysia's experience with the SME Masterplan: Lessons Learned Highlights | Download Report (pdf) SMEs account for 98.5% of total firms in Malaysia, and the bulk of the country’s production and employment. |
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Agricultural Transformation and Inclusive Growth: The Malaysian Experience Executive Summary | Download Report (pdf) | Press Release The Malaysian story involves a farsighted leadership that has mobilized the considerable assets of a resource-rich country to translate a long-term vision of nation building into action and transformational results. |
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Regulatory Governance for Development and Growth: Malaysia's Experience with Good Regulatory Practices Highlights | Download Report (pdf) Good Regulatory Practices (GRP) are a systematic application of tools, institutions, and procedures that governments can mobilize to ensure that regulatory outcomes are effective, transparent, inclusive, and sustained. |
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Breaking Barriers: Toward Better Economic Opportunities for Women in Malaysia Highlights | Download Report (pdf) | Press Release The promotion of economic opportunities for women is one of the most promising avenues for Malaysia’s future development. |
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Monitoring Occupational Shortages-Lessons from Malaysia’s Critical Occupations List Highlights | Download report (pdf) | Press Release Malaysia’s ‘Critical Occupations List’ is an innovative tool for preparing workers for the jobs of the future. |
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Case Study on the Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia Highlights | Download report (pdf) | Press release The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) of Malaysia transitioned from a relatively small public retirement fund for both private sector and non-pensionable public sector employees in 1949 to become now one of the largest pension funds among developing countries. |
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Budgeting for Performance in Malaysia Highlights | Download report (pdf) In Malaysia, the government has undertaken a more outcome-based approach to the annual budget process, which represents an evolutionary step towards performance-based budgeting. |
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Greenback 2.0 Johor Bahru Report: Migrant Workers' Remittances from Malaysia Download report (pdf) “Project Greenback 2.0 –Johor Bahru” is the product of a partnership between the World Bank and Bank Negara Malaysia, aimed at supporting the development of an efficient and transparent remittances market. |
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Improving Education Sector Performance in Malaysia: Lessons from a Delivery Unit Approach Highlights | Download report (pdf) | Press release Malaysia’s efforts to tackle education challenges, particularly through the establishment of a ‘delivery unit’ that tracks results, can help other countries seeking to improve implementation in the sector. |
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Enhancing Public Sector Performance: Malaysia’s Experience With Transforming Land Administration Highlights | Download report (pdf) Malaysia’s success in reforming land policies and land administration can help other developing countries striving to better manage their resources, says a new World Bank report. |
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Open Data Readiness Assessment: Malaysia Download report (pdf) Malaysia is ready to formulate an action plan to enable broad public access to government data and strengthen data use in development planning, says a new World Bank report. |
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Financial Inclusion in Malaysia: Distilling Lessons for Other Countries Presentation | Download report (pdf) Malaysia has achieved one of the highest levels of financial inclusion among Southeast Asia countries, due in part to policies taking advantage of mobile phones and banking agents to expand access, according to a recent World Bank report. |
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Driving Performance from the Center: Malaysia’s Experience with PEMANDU Highlights | Download report (pdf) Malaysia’s experience in driving public sector performance through a delivery unit serves as a useful case study for governments around the world, according to a new World Bank report. |