Malaysia

Five lessons in infrastructure pricing from East Asia and Pacific

In the infrastructure domain, “price” is a prism with many façades.

An infrastructure economist sees price in graphic terms: the coordinates of a point where demand and supply curves intersect.

For governments, price relates to budget lines, as part of public spending to develop infrastructure networks.

Utility managers view price as a decision: the amount to charge for each unit of service in order to recover the costs of production and (possibly) earn a profit.

But for most people, price comes with simple question: how much is the tariff I have to pay for the service, and can I afford it?

My admiration for hummingbirds began in my native Brazil. The hummingbird’s flight patterns may seem a mystery as they shift from one flower to the next. But hummingbirds are immensely purposeful, agile, and proficient pollinators – among the most hard-working members of many thriving ecosystems. And they can be found from Alaska to the southernmost regions of South America.

The Bank’s efforts to transfer knowledge, germinate ideas, and catalyze change sometimes put me in mind of the hard-working hummingbird. My visit to the World Bank’s Global Knowledge and Research Hub in Malaysia last year is a case in point. As I learned about the Bank’s partnership with Malaysia and the origins of the Hub, I was struck by the broader relevance for our work with upper middle-income countries, and our efforts to share global lessons and leverage knowledge to maximize financing for development. The visit sparked three main observations.

Also available in: English

Di antara 29 negara dan ekonomi kawasan Asia Timur dan Pasifik, kita bisa menemukan beberapa sistem pendidikan paling sukses di dunia. Tujuh dari sepuluh pencetak rata-rata nilai tertinggi pada tes yang dapat dibandingkan secara internasional seperti PISA dan TIMSS berasal dari kawasan tersebut, di mana Jepang, Korea Selatan, Singapura, dan Hong Kong, Tiongkok secara konsisten selalu berada di antara yang terbaik.

Namun, yang lebih penting, kita juga menemukan bahwa kinerja yang hebat tidak terbatas pada sistem sekolah di negara-negara berpenghasilan tinggi kawasan ini. Sistem sekolah di negara berpenghasilan menengah seperti Vietnam dan Tiongkok (khususnya provinsi di Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, dan Guangdong), meskipun memiliki PDB per kapita yang jauh lebih rendah, memiliki nilai lebih baik daripada rata-rata negara OECD. Terlebih lagi, nilai dari Tiongkok dan Vietnam menunjukkan bahwa kinerja siswa miskin tidak tertinggal. Siswa dari kuintil berpenghasilan terendah kedua memiliki skor lebih baik daripada rata-rata siswa OECD, bahkan peserta tes paling miskin pun mengungguli siswa dari beberapa negara makmur. Namun demikian, seperti ditunjukkan grafik di bawah, negara-negara lain di kawasan ini belum mencapai hasil yang sama.

Also available in: Bahasa Indonesia

Among the 29 countries and economies of the East Asia and Pacific region, one finds some of the world’s most successful education systems. Seven out of the top 10 highest average scorers on internationally comparable tests such as PISA and TIMSS are from the region, with Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong (China) consistently among the best.

But, more significantly, one also finds that great performance is not limited to school systems in the region’s high-income countries. School systems in middle-income Vietnam and China (specifically the provinces of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong) score better than the average OECD country, despite having much lower GDP per capita. What is more, scores from both China and Vietnam show that poor students are not being left behind. Students from the second-lowest income quintile score better than the average OECD student, and even the very poorest test takers outscore students from some wealthy countries. As the graph below shows, however, other countries in the region have yet to achieve similar results.

bigstock/joyfull — Malaysia is home to a vibrant Islamic banking sector. Islamic finance has grown rapidly in the past two decades and it now stands as a potential contributor in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. Photo: bigstock/joyful

Islamic finance has the potential to play a crucial role in supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the face of significant financing needs for the SDGs, Islamic finance has untapped potential as a substantial and non-traditional source of financing for the SDGs.

The growth of Islamic finance has been rapid at 10-12% annually over the past two decades. By 2015, the industry had surpassed US$1.88 trillion in size. Islamic finance has emerged as an effective tool for financing development worldwide, including in non-Muslim countries, and may prove to be an important contributor towards realizing the SDGs.

The Third Annual Symposium on Islamic Finance was held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2017, co-organized by the World Bank Group, Islamic Development Bank, International Center for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) and Guidance Financial Group to explore the potential contributions that Islamic Finance can make to achieving the SDGs.

Better jobs, higher salaries and improved access to basic services – the bright lights of cities seem to promise these and more.

*The ASEAN Green Bonds Standards are a big step forward towards more green investments in the region. Photo: bigstock/jamesteoh*

Climate change poses a significant threat to the economic development of countries around the world. The World Bank estimates that up to a 100 million poor people could be pushed back into poverty by 2030 as a result of climate change – in part due to a combination of higher agricultural prices and threats to food security and health – especially in the poorer parts of the world. The Paris Agreement and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have provided commitments to tackle the most urgent of these environmental challenges.

*Malaysia’s experience in addressing access to finance for SMEs has been successful, serving as a learning point for countries like Tanzania. Photo: Samuel Goh/World Bank*

Tanzania is set towards becoming a middle-income country as the economy grew by an average of 6.5% per year in the past decade. The “Tanzania Development Vision (TDV) 2025” highlighted small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector as one important contributor to the country’s long-term development. It is estimated that Tanzania’s SME sector consists of more than 3 million enterprises which contribute to 27% of overall GDP. Most of them are in the agricultural sector, and more than half are owned by women.

Also available in: English

Khát vọng của Việt Nam là trở thành một quốc gia thịnh vượng, sáng tạo, công bằng, và dân chủ vào năm 2035. Muốn đạt được mục tiêu đầy tham vọng này thì Việt Nam cần chuyển đổi nhiều lĩnh vực cả về kinh tế, xã hội, và chính trị.

Cốt lõi của quá trình chuyển đổi này là việc xác định lại vai trò của nhà nước trong quản lý kinh tế. Trong quá trình thích nghi với vai trò quản trị kinh tế, nhà nước phải trở thành một nhà kiến tạo khôn khéo nhằm phát triển ba mối quan hệ: giữa các cơ quan nhà nước với nhau, giữa nhà nước với thị trường, và giữa nhà nước với người dân.

Cách đây chưa lâu, Ma-lai-xi-a cũng trải qua quá trình tương tự như Việt Nam hiện nay, với việc thực hiện một quá trình chuyển đổi trên nhiều lĩnh vực. Năm 2009 Ma-lai-xi-a bắt đầu thực hiện Chương trình cải cách quốc gia (National Transformation Program – NTP) tập trung vào hai lĩnh vực cải cách chính phủ và cải cách kinh tế. Ma-lai-xi-a đã áp dụng nhiều thực tiễn tốt nhằm đơn giản hoá quản lý nhà nước, giúp các doanh nghiệp tương tác dễ dàng hơn với nhà nước.

Around the world, development financial institutions help to promote economic growth, support social development and alleviate poverty.
Photo: bigstock/Elena Larina

Are national development financial institutions (DFIs) still relevant? What are the critical factors that make these institutions succeed? What are concrete examples of sound, well-administered and innovative DFIs? Why do they still remain in business in countries with large and sophisticated financial systems? How can we assess their economic and social impact? Have our views on DFIs evolved in the past decades?

Malaysia

Five lessons in infrastructure pricing from East Asia and Pacific

The World Bank as hummingbird: Leveraging knowledge for development finance

Untuk menggali potensi siswa, tuntut dan dukunglah guru

To unlock student potential in East Asia Pacific, be demanding and supportive of teachers

Sustainable Development Goals and the role of Islamic finance

Expanding opportunities for urban poor in East Asia and Pacific cities

The New ASEAN Green Bonds Standards

Improving access to finance for SMEs in Tanzania: Learning from Malaysia’s experience

Việt Nam nghiên cứu kinh nghiệm Ma-lai-xi-a về xây dựng nhà nước kiến tạo

The role of development financial institutions in the new millennium

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