Michael Rock | Bryn Mawr College (original) (raw)

Papers by Michael Rock

Journal of The Asia Pacific Economy, Oct 27, 2017

Oxford University Press eBooks, Nov 24, 2016

What is the impact of democracy on corruption? In most models, analysts assume a negative relatio... more What is the impact of democracy on corruption? In most models, analysts assume a negative relationship, with more democracy leading to less corruption. But recent theoretical developments and case evidence support an inverted U relationship between corruption and democracy. By drawing on a panel data set covering a large number of countries between 1996 and 2003, substantial empirical support is found for an inverted U relationship between democracy and corruption. The turning point in corruption occurs rather early in the life of new democracies and at rather low per capita incomes.

Dictators, Democrats, and Development in Southeast Asia, 2016

Southeast Asia's Industrialization, 2001

and Hong Kong ± grew faster. High economic growth was accompanied by a rapid decline in the incid... more and Hong Kong ± grew faster. High economic growth was accompanied by a rapid decline in the incidence of poverty and low income inequality (Campos and Root 1996: 9±16). In addition to equitable and poverty-reducing growth, Indonesia achieved food self-suf®ciency (in rice by 1985), a rapid decline in the rate of population growth and an equally impressive spread of basic education and literacy (Campos and Root 1996: 60). These developments were accompanied by substantial industrialization and structural change. Agriculture's share in GDP declined from 51 per cent to 22 per cent, while the share of manufactures in GDP rose from 8 per cent to 20 per cent (World Bank 1990a: 222). Because overall growth was so rapid and growth in manufactures even more rapid (manufacturing output grew by more than 12 per cent per year between 1965 and 1990), the manufacturing sector in 1990 was almost 45 times larger than it has been in 1965 (World Bank 1992: 222). Although much of manufacturing was fostered under policies of import substitution (IS) Indonesia also experienced substantial success in exporting manufactures. By 1993, manufactured exports reached US$21 billion and accounted for 53 per cent of total exports (World Bank 1996b: 216). Because of this, Indonesia had gone a long way toward diversifying its economy, including exports, away from oil and other primary products. 1 This long-term development performance attracted considerable attention (World Bank 1993a; Campos and Root 1996; Hill 1996a). Broad similarities across the developing world with Indonesia's factor endowments (natural resources, physical capital and human capital) and with the character of its state (the state is neither`strong' nor`hard' in the Northeast Asian sense and is characterized by corruption, rent-seeking and patrimonial distributional networks) suggest that others in similar circumstances might have much to learn from Indonesia (Lindauer and Roemer 1993). The government's relatively effective husbanding of the country's natural resource riches to 283

Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 2017

What has been the impact of democracy on growth in Indonesia? An early view emphasized a growth a... more What has been the impact of democracy on growth in Indonesia? An early view emphasized a growth and investment slowdown, but more recent data suggests otherwise. What accounts for the reversion to New Order growth and investment rates? My answer is the adoption of more centripetal and developmental democratic institutions in an otherwise messy democracy that has pushed political parties and presidents to compete for votes by promising to clean up government and restore growth.

International Journal of Institutions and Economies, 2015

How has democracy impacted growth in Southeast Asia? This question can be answered by demonstrati... more How has democracy impacted growth in Southeast Asia? This question can be answered by demonstrating how political elites in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand crafted quite unique democratic developmental states that enabled them to provide the public goods and public policies to maintain high growth. Because of this, growth under democracy has been as high as it was during the heyday of these polities’ developmental autocracies. Moreover, as there was no single dominant pathway to the construction of democratic development in these polities, it looks like political elites were able to take local conditions and history into account suggesting that political elites have been as effective in selectively intervening in the structure of democratic politics as they have been in intervening in the economy.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2003

How can we account for Indonesia's astonishing development performance between 1965 and 1997-rapi... more How can we account for Indonesia's astonishing development performance between 1965 and 1997-rapid growth, massive reduction in the incidence of poverty, low income-inequality and substantial diversification of the economy-in the face of extremely dirigiste microeconomic policies, even by developing country standards, and massive, systemic and endemic rent-seeking and corruption? This question is answered by demonstrating that Suharto, the leader of Indonesia's New Order government, was extremely successful in building and sustaining a procapitalist, pro-integration with the world economy, and pro-growth with equity political coalition in which corruption played a central role.

About the Author Dr. Michael T. Rock is an environmental policy expert at Winrock International w... more About the Author Dr. Michael T. Rock is an environmental policy expert at Winrock International with more than eighteen years of experience as a policy-oriented development/environmental economist. He has been involved in all aspects of environmental sector assessment, including environmental policy analysis and implementation of policy-related programs. Dr. Rock’s recent work includes policy advice to the

Policy Research Working Papers, 2013

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encoura... more The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

UNCTAD/OSG/DP/136- ii-The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not ne... more UNCTAD/OSG/DP/136- ii-The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNCTAD. The designations and terminology employed are also those of the authors. UNCTAD Discussion Papers are read anonymously by at least one referee, whose comments are taken into account before publication. Comments on this paper are invited and should be addressed to the authors, c/o Editorial Assistant*,

The environmental problems of developing Asia are now well documented. The combination of rapid u... more The environmental problems of developing Asia are now well documented. The combination of rapid urban‐industrial growth and de fa c t o ‘ g r ow now and clean up later’ environmental strategies have resulted in low energy efficiency within industry, natural resource depletion, materials-intensive production, polluted rivers and groundwater supplies and unhealthy air in many Asian cities. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB 1997), average levels of air particulates in Asia over the period 1991‐95 were approximately fivefold higher than in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and twice the world average (see Table 1.1). Measures of water pollution, such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels and levels of suspended solids, were also substantially above world ave r a g e s. Prior to the current crisis,

J Ind Ecol, 2000

Recent research has found an inverted U relationship between freshwater use and income after cont... more Recent research has found an inverted U relationship between freshwater use and income after controlling for freshwater availability, the structure of the economy, and several policy variables. This suggests that the intensity of freshwater use must be declining with income growth. This hypothesis is tested by developing a simple, informal model of the determinants of freshwater-use intensities across countries and over time. Results suggest that wateruse intensity declines across the entire range of per capita incomes extant in the world today. They also show that the relationship between intensity of use and income is mediated by an economy's natural water endowment, the structure of the economy, and government policies. Four policies, in par ticular, affect the water-use intensity of economies. Open trade policies and tough environmental regulatory policies lower water use intensities, and narrowly defined food self-sufficiency policies and socialist development policies increase water-use intensities. These findings suggest that those interested in water, water scarcity, and water policy need to extend beyond simple extrapolations of past consumption patterns and narrowly focused water policies (such as water pricing) if they want to improve water management practices.

Research Reports IIMI's mission is to foster and support sustainable increases in the productivit... more Research Reports IIMI's mission is to foster and support sustainable increases in the productivity of irrigated agriculture within the overall context of the water basin. In serving this mission, IIMI concentrates on the integration of policies, technologies and management systems to achieve workable solutions to real problems-practical, relevant results in the field of irrigation and water resources. The publications in this series cover a wide range of subjects-from computer modeling to experience with water users associations-and vary in content from directly applicable research to more basic studies, on which applied work ultimately depends. Some research reports are narrowly focused, analytical, and detailed empirical studies; others are wide-ranging and synthetic overviews of generic problems. Although most of the reports are published by IIMI staff and their collaborators, we welcome contributions from others. Each report is reviewed internally by IIMI's own staff and Fellows, and by external reviewers. The reports are published and distributed both in hard copy and electronically (http://.www.cgiar.org/iimi) and where possible all data and analyses will be available as separate downloadable files. Reports may be copied freely and cited with due acknowledgment.

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Journal of East Asian Studies, 2013

Political elites in East Asia have opted for a set of democratic institutions with a strong major... more Political elites in East Asia have opted for a set of democratic institutions with a strong majoritarian bias that privilege efficiency and accountability over representativeness. Some have labeled these democracies “democratic developmental states.” Because the political architects of East Asia's democratic developmental states have met at least some of their objectives, it is time to ask, What has been the impact of the shift to majoritarianism on growth? I answer this question empirically by demonstrating that the contribution to growth from majoritarian democratic institutions in East Asia is as large as that from the region's developmentally oriented authoritarian governments.

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ABSTRACT Even though Indonesia's CO2 emissions are dominated by deforestation while China... more ABSTRACT Even though Indonesia's CO2 emissions are dominated by deforestation while China's are dominated by industry, Indonesia has much to learn from China's industrial energy saving programs. To begin with, it is only a matter of time before Indonesia's emissions from fossil fuels overtake those from deforestation. Given the long technological lock-in effects of energy systems and industries, Indonesia needs to think now about how it will tackle this problem. There are other reasons for believing that Indonesia might learn something from China – the CO2 intensities of GDP, of industry and of cement production have been rising in Indonesia, while they are falling in China. China's better intensity performance is due to policies that Indonesia would do well to follow – adopting a technological catch-up industrial development strategy; raising energy prices to scarcity values; liberalising domestic markets and opening the economy to trade and investment; and mounting a massive energy saving program.

Photocopy. Thesis--University of Pittsburgh, 1973.