Malaysia The Most Corrupt Nation?

Actually, that’s not what EY said. I wonder if the person writing the following actually read the report (excerpt):

Malaysia one of the most corrupt nations, survey shows

Malaysia has been ranked as one of the most corrupt nations and listed as a country which is most likely to take shortcuts to meet targets when economic times are tough, according to a recent survey by Ernst & Young, signalling that the government's Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) has failed in its role to transform the economy.

Malaysia, along with China, has the highest levels of bribery and corruption anywhere in the world, according to the latest report, Asia-Pacific Fraud Survey Report Series 2013.

Competition And Private Sector Waste

A fascinating blog post from Antonio Fatas, and having worked in the private sector for many years, one I fully agree with (excerpt):

Does competition get rid of waste in the private sector?

It is very common to hear comments about the waste of resources when referring to governments and the public sector…In fact, we all have our list of anecdotes on how governments waste resources, build bridges to nowhere and how politicians are driven by their own interest, their ambitions or even worse pure corruption. If only we could bring the private sector to manage these services!

July 2013 Employment

The July employment numbers depict a healthy economy, quite at odds with the growth numbers (‘000):

August 2013 Consumer Prices

Consumer price inflation for August was released a couple of days ago (log annual and monthly changes):

Who’s Doing The Saving?

This recent paper from the World Bank confirms something I’ve suspected and been concerned about for a long time (abstract):

What are the causes of the growing trend of excess savings of the corporate sector in developed countries ? an empirical analysis of three hypotheses
Leandro Brufman, Lisana Martinez & Rodrigo Perez Artica

Summary: This paper analyzes annual accounting data for a sample of 5,000 publicly traded manufacturing firms from Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The analysis uses data from 1997 to 2011 and finds an increasing trend of excess savings (defined as the difference between gross saving and capital formation) and a gradual decline of gross capital formation. This trend is accompanied by a steady deleveraging process and a decrease in the share of operating assets in total assets. This process is more acute among the more credit constrained, the more volatile, and the less dynamic firms.

Why Spending RM160 Billion On Rail Isn’t Completely Bonkers

It’s last week’s news, but still relevant (excerpt):

Najib: An additional RM160bil to be invested in rail projects by 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government is expected to spend an estimated RM160bil more on rail-related projects until 2020, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Prime Minister said the railroad industry had seen "massive expansion" in Asia and was becoming an increasingly significant mode in Malaysia's efforts to improve public transportation...

Talking To Your Kids: Inequality And The Parenting Gap

As a follow up to my previous post, anybody interested in income inequality, social mobility and equality of opportunity needs to read this (excerpt, emphasis added):

The Parenting Gap

High-income parents talk with their school-aged children for three hours more per week than low-income parents, according to research by Meredith Phillips of UCLA.They also provide around four-and-a-half extra hours per week of time in novel or stimulating places, such as parks or churches, for their infants and toddlers.

The Bumi Agenda: The Importance Of Evidence Based Policy

Saturday’s announcement by the Prime Minister of measures to rekindle the Bumi Agenda, if I can call it that, has taken its share of brickbats and support (more of the former rather than the latter, by the commentary on social media).

Here’s my take: I think the Bumi problem is real and shouldn’t be sidelined. But, I also think that these new measures don’t go far enough, or go too far in the wrong direction, to be truly meaningful in addressing the situation.

July 2013 Industrial Production

Something is in the wind. US Purchasing Managers Indexes zoomed up in June, and lo and behold, Malaysia’s IPI is following suit (log annual and monthly changes; seasonally adjusted):

Documenting Income Inequality: 2012 Update

I posted the data on household income over a year ago, but the 2012 household income survey summary results have since been released, and I’ve had quite a few queries about this issue lately.

[As always, you can click on any of the graphs to view a larger version. Note that all the data presented here is inflation adjusted (2000=100); please refer to the sources linked to at the bottom of this post for the raw data]

Breaking The Poverty Trap: Financial Services Edition

The Governor is on Project Syndicate, talking about financial inclusion (excerpt):

Financial Inclusion Now

KUALA LUMPUR – Making the financial system accessible to the world’s poorest people can unlock their economic potential, improve their lives, and benefit the wider economy. So it is no surprise that financial inclusion of the poor has become an important component of public policymaking. Central banks and regulators worldwide are taking the lead in making financial inclusion a priority, in addition to their traditional mandates of maintaining monetary and financial stability.

Breaking The Poverty Trap

From my point of view, one of the biggest problems with the whole ideological debate about equal outcomes (“affirmative action”) versus equal opportunity (“meritocracy”) is that it’s really a false dichotomy.

In many ways, you can’t have one without the other. A meritocracy that truly rewards merit only works if you assume everyone starts off equally. If you want to be wonkish about it, it’s a one-generation, equal-endowment model of lifetime income.