Development as Accountability
By Paul
Here’s an interesting speech (though not by content) by Malaysia’s former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim;
“Ibrahim spoke on governance and accountability as drivers for social change, led by development organizations. He drew upon his experiences in Malaysia to illustrate this point, highlighting the positive results from anticorruption initiatives. Ibrahim also tied accountability to freedom, calling it the process of “civilizing power,” and he advocated cooperation with the World Bank to countries that are working toward good governance.”
The speech was high on quotations and referred to Ibn Khaldun, Thomas Jefferson, Isaiah Berlin, Amartya Sen, Mancur Olson, and Kafka amongst others. He also went on to suggest that World Bank should have an independent office of accountability with a broad mandate. His book Asian Renaissance, published in 1996 is decent enough book. I wonder how Mahathir would react to his speech.
Related video; Anwar Ibrahim clarifies his role at the World Bank
I haven’t come across a good economics blog on Malaysia. Let us know if you’ve come across one.
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