MACROECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF GOVERNANCE IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35631/AIJBES.828012

Keywords:

Economic Factors, Governance, Macroeconomic Determinants, SDG 16, Social Factors

Abstract

This conceptual analysis paper presents an integrated framework to analyse how key macroeconomic determinants such as economic growth, foreign direct investment, trade openness, human capital, and income inequality systematically influence the governance in Malaysia and Singapore. By drawing on institutional economics, political economy, and development theory, this study highlights the channels through which macroeconomic conditions impact the governance of a nation. By contrasting a middle-income developing economy with a high-income developed economy, this study emphasizes the importance of developmental stages and institutional maturity in shaping governance responses. The proposed framework contributes to the governance literature by reframing governance as a macro-driven outcome and offers policy insights aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abdelbary, I., & Benhin, J.K. (2019). Political Governance and Sustainable Development. Advances in Public Policy and Administration.

Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2023). The narrow corridor revisited: Institutions, states, and freedom. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 37(4), 3–28.

Adeleye, B. N. (2023). Income Inequality, Human Capital and Institutional Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Social Indicators Research.

Ansell, C., & Torfing, J. (2016). Introduction: theories of governance. In Handbook on theories of governance (pp. 1-18). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Beirne, J., & Panthi, P. (2025). Institutional quality and macrofinancial resilience in Asia. Journal of Asian Economics, 99, 101957.

Bevir, M. (2024, April 11). governance. Encyclopedia Britannica.

Bojanic, A. N. (2023). Tying decentralization and income redistribution to fight corruption: Empirical evidence from developed and developing countries. Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, 8, 1099553.

Emeka, E. T., Asongu, S. A., & Bouanza, J. R. F. K. (2025). Lifelong gender inclusive education, productive capacity, and governance quality in Africa. International Journal of Educational Development, 117, 103312.

Evrensel, A. Y. (2010). Institutional and economic determinants of corruption: A cross-section analysis. Applied Economics Letters, 17(6), 551–554.

Fankem, G. S. G., & Feyom, C. (2024). Does trade openness improve or worsen public governance in Sub-Saharan Africa? International Economics, 178, 100502.

Güney, T. (2017). Governance and sustainable development: How effective is governance? The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 26, 316 - 335.

Han, J. (2023). How Does Governance Affect the Control of Corruption in India? A Configurational Investigation with Fs/QCA. Economies.

Jessop, B. (1998), ‘The rise of governance and the risks of failure: The case of economic development’, International Social Science Journal, 50 (155), 29–45.

Jessop, B. (2002), The Future of the Capitalist State, Cambridge: Polity.

Kaufmann, D., Kraay, A., & Mastruzzi, M. (2022). Governance matters revisited: New insights and evidence. World Bank Research Observer, 37(2), 1–29.

Kaufmann, D., & Kraay, A. (2024). The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Methodology and 2024 update. World Bank.

Khan, M. H., Andreoni, A., & Chang, H.-J. (2023). Growth, inequality, and governance transitions. Journal of Institutional Economics, 19(4), 623–645.

Khan, S. (2021). Investigating the effect of income inequality on corruption: new evidence from 23 emerging countries. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 13(3), 2100-2126.

Klijn, E.-H. (2008), ‘Governance and governance networks in Europe’, Public Management Review, 10 (4), 505–525.

Kumar, C. (2015). 21stcentury Debate on Government versus Governance.

Lameira, V. D. J., Jr, W. L. N., Amaral–Baptista, M. A., Pereira, R. G., & Quelhas, O. L. G. (2013). Corruption, governance and sustainable development. International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance, 6(2-3), 213-231.

Li, J., Ridzuan, A. R., Bose, J., Mukthar, K. P. J., Thomas, A., Abd Samad, K., Abd Rahman, N. H., & Thomas, S. N. (2025). Foreign direct investment, economic growth, and governance in China: An empirical study. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 15(6), 286–293.

Martins, J., Veiga, L.G., & Fernandes, B. (2023). Are electronic government innovations helpful to deter corruption? Evidence from across the world. Economics & Politics, 35(3), 1177–1203.

Mayntz, R. (1993a), ‘Modernization and the logic of interorganizational networks’, in J. Child, M. Crozier and R. Mayntz (eds), Societal Change between Markets and Organization, Aldershot: Avebury, pp. 3–18.

Mayntz, R. (1993b), ‘Governing failure and the problem of governability: Some comments on a theoretical paradigm’, in J. Kooiman (ed.), Modern Governance, London: Sage, pp. 9–20.

Nguyen, C. P., & Van Dijk, M. A. (2022). Governance quality and economic performance in ASEAN countries. Economic Systems, 46(2), 100925.

Nguyen, H.T., Vo, T.T., Le, D.D., & Nguyen, V.T. (2020). Fiscal Decentralization, Corruption, and Income Inequality: Evidence from Vietnam. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business.

Nurudeen, A., & Waldemar Staniewski, M. (2019). Determinants of corruption in Nigeria: Evidence from various estimation techniques. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 32(1), 3052-3076.

Papadopoulos, Y. (2004). Governance und Demokratie.

Rontos, K., Syrmali, M.-E., & Vavouras, I. (2015). Economic, political and social determinants of governance worldwide. Journal of Social and Economic Development, 17(2), 105–119.

Saba, C. S., Alola, A. A., & Ngepah, N. (2025). Exploring the role of governance and institutional indicators in environmental degradation across global regions. Environmental Development, 54, 101152.

Saleem, R., Iqbal, M., Arshed, N., Oláh, J., & Naeem, M. (2025). Trade and governance in developing Asia: The role of FinTech in shaping institutional quality and global integration. Research in Globalization, 11, 100326.

Scharpf, F.W. (1994), ‘Games real actors could play: Positive and negative coordination in embedded negotiations’, Journal of Theoretical Politics, 6 (1), 27–53.

Shome, P. (1997a). Fiscal Policy, Public Policy & Governance.

The PRS Group. (2023). ICRG Researchers Dataset, political risk by component: Corruption (Table 3B) [Data set]. The PRS Group.

United Nations. (2023). The sustainable development goals report 2023. United Nations.

Wong, M. Y. (2023). Economic development, corruption, and income inequality: The role of the informal sector. Politics, 02633957221148951.

World Bank. (2007), A Decade for Measuring the Quality of Governance, Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank. (2023). Worldwide governance indicators: 2023 update. World Bank Publications.

World Bank. (2024). Worldwide Governance Indicators. World Bank.

Zain, Z. M., Setapa, F., Baah, R., & Kusnin, K. (2019). Macroeconomic variables and corruption in Malaysia. Advances in Business Research International Journal, 5(2), 112-126.

Downloads

Published

2026-06-08

How to Cite

Nasir, N. M., Ridzuan, A. R., Nasir, Z. A., Syeddin, S. N., & Bahador, M. H. (2026). MACROECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF GOVERNANCE IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK. ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SME’S (AIJBES), 8(28), 180–194. https://doi.org/10.35631/AIJBES.828012