Is the Lustre Coming off Malaysia’s Shine? Malaysia’s Recent Economic Performance and Prospects for Future Growth
Lean, Hooi Hooi; Smyth, Russell | June 2016
Abstract
This paper reviews the recent economic situation in Malaysia and examines the prospects for future economic growth. The Malaysian economy continues to perform well, although there are risks and uncertainties. There is evidence that economic growth has started to slow recently in response to the falling oil price and low investor confidence. The Ringgit appreciated against the U.S. dollar through to mid-2014, but has subsequently depreciated. The budget deficit has declined in recent years, reflecting fiscal reform and the introduction of the Good and Service Tax (GST). While we express concern about the risks associated with declining commodity prices and uncertainties over capital flows, we conclude that the prospects for continued economic growth in Malaysia are relatively good. In the short-term cheaper crude oil price imports and major public infrastructure investment projects will spur growth. In the longer-term, we emphasize the role of investment in education in moving up the value-added chain into higher value added manufacturing. We also stress that the government must play a key role in restoring investor confidence and reducing ethnic and religion tension, if Malaysia is continue to exhibit strong growth in the longer term.
Citation
Lean, Hooi Hooi; Smyth, Russell. 2016. Is the Lustre Coming off Malaysia’s Shine? Malaysia’s Recent Economic Performance and Prospects for Future Growth. © S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/9267.Keywords
Development Economics
Regional Economic Development
Economic Impact
Asian Development Bank
Development
Macroeconomic
Macroeconomic Analysis
Macroeconomic Framework
Macroeconomic Models
Macroeconomic Performance
Macroeconomic Planning
Macroeconomic Policies
Macroeconomic Reform
Macroeconomic Stabilization
Economies in transition
Economic agreements
Development indicators
ADB
Economic development
Gross domestic product
Employment
Economic forecast
Economic indicators
Growth models
Gross domestic product
Macroeconomics
Economic forecast
Social condition
Economic dependence
Economic assistance
Comparative economics
Regional economics
Economic development projects
Open price system
Price fixing
Price regulation
Consumer price indexes
Financial crisis
Labor economics
Regional economics
Turnover
Economic survey
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Citable URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11540/9267Metadata
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