Florian Langbehn

Can Asian Tigers Be Transferred to the African Savannah? Exploring the Consequences and Origins of State Capacity in the Developing World

States in developing countries exhibit considerable differences in terms of capacity and coherence with profound consequences for the welfare and well-being of their citizens. The present dissertation centers on the origins and consequences of these variations. It takes a closer look at the institutional foundation that enabled the Asian Tigers to successfully pursue an agenda of rapid economic development and probes their political and historical origins in order to assess their potential for transferable lessons. Following its twin focus the project is divided into two parts. The first part is dedicated to the institutional underpinnings of developmental success and failure. Its purpose is to underline the relevance of a focus on variations in the state’s developmental capacity – by establishing a theoretical and empirical link to economic growth – and in doing so contribute to the debate on which institutions matter and why. The second part examines which factors account for variations in the capacity of the state across developing countries. Special attention is given to the relationship between pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial state structures, and a key question is whether or not the roots of contemporary state structures are primarily found in the colonial period. 

Udgivet januar 2013

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