Education
Ph.D., Duke University, 2004 (political science)
M.A., Duke University, 2001(political science)
B.S.F.S., Georgetown University, 1996 (developmental economics, summa cum laude)
Biography
CV
Edmund Malesky is Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UC San Diego. Malesky's research interests focus on comparative politics, political economy, and economic transitions in developing economies, especially in Southeast Asia. His doctoral thesis discusses the politics of economic reform in Vietnam, where he has demonstrated how a coalition of provincial officials and foreign investors induced far-reaching economic reforms by the Vietnamese central government. The dissertation won the Gabriel Almond award of the American Political Science Association, honoring the best thesis in the field of comparative politics.
Upon completion of his Ph.D., Malesky was one of three recipients of the prestigious Harvard Academy for International Affairs post-doctoral fellowships in 2004-2005. After joining IR/PS in July 2005, Malesky began teaching courses in quantitative methods and policy-making in Southeast Asia.
His most recent work, “Straight Ahead on Red: How Foreign Direct Investment Empowers Subnational Leaders,” has been published in the Journal of Politics. Forthcoming articles include “Where is Credit Due? Companies, Banks, and Locally Differentiated Investment Growth in Vietnam,” (with Marcus Taussig) in the Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, and “Gerrymandering Vietnam Style: Escaping the Partial Reform Equilibrium in a Non-Democratic Regime” will be published in the Journal of Politics.
In addition to his academic research, Malesky has served as a consultant for the World Bank, US-AID, and the Asia Foundation in Vietnam. In this capacity, Malesky was the primary author of US-AID’s Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), ranking the Vietnamese provinces by their economic governance and investment environment for private firms. The wide publicity the index received in the Vietnamese press has spurred intense competition among Vietnamese provincial leaders to increase the transparency of their administrations, streamline investment procedures, and improve their attitude toward private entrepreneurs. The 2008 version of the PCI is currently underway. Malesky has completed similar indices in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. He will complete the second edition of the Cambodian Provincial Business Environment Scorecard (PBES) this summer.
He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University in 2004 and graduated summa cum laude in developmental economics from Georgetown University in 1996.
Programs and Centers
Southeast Asia Regional Concentration
Perspectives
Malesky can comment on political development in Vietnam and China, as well as comparative political economy in Southeast Asia. He also can provide insight into the choices underlying the decisions of foreign investors and thereby the globalization debate, especially in regard to the discussion of "sweatshops" in developing countries.
Expertise
Malesky's research focuses on the political economy of economic transition. His dissertation examined the impact of foreign direct investment on local-central relations in transition states, with a special concentration on Vietnam. He is particularly interested in the notion of how de facto decentralization results from increased provincial bargaining power before formal decentralization by national governments. Malesky has also devoted considerable time to understanding the impact of foreign direct investment on domestic government institutions and political cleavages.
Current Projects
Malesky's current projects include the construction of a provincial economic governance index for Vietnam's 64 provinces. Using business survey data, Malesky is working to rank provinces on their transparency, transaction costs, attitude toward private sector reform, and innovative approaches to economic development. Along the way, Malesky has put tremendous emphasis on improving the methodology with which scholars approach business survey data. Malesky is also working closely with a colleague at Duke on a book project exploring the underlying causes of economic reform choices across Eastern Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union.
Background Notes
Malesky joined IR/PS in 2005. Before joining IR/PS, he was an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Weatherhead Center of International Affairs. Malesky received his undergraduate degree from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in May 1996. He graduated summa cum laude with a major in international economics. In May 2004, Malesky defended his doctoral dissertation in political science with a certificate in political economy from Duke University. He has been a consultant for the Asia Foundation, US-AID'sWorld Bank, the United Nations Development Program, and a student monitor of factories producing Nike apparel.
Vietnam National Competitiveness Initiative, the
Professional Activities
- Member, American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C., 1998-Present.
- Research Partner, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2001-present.
- Research Partner, Central Institute for Economic Management, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2003-present.
- Visiting Scholar, Australia National University, Department of Political and Social Change, Canberra, Australia, 2003.
- Research Fellow, Institute of World Economy, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2001-2002.
- Anonymous referee, World Politics, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ASEAN Economic Bulletin, Crossroads in Southeast Asia.
Publications of Note
Malesky has published several papers on economic transition in the European Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, the William Davidson Institute (University of Michigan) Working Paper Series, and the working paper series of the World Bank Group's Mekong Private Sector Development Facility. He also has a chapter in the forthcoming book, Beyond Hanoi: Local Governance in Vietnam published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. His dissertation recently won the APSA award for the best thesis in the field of comparative politics.
Recent Publications
Academic Research
Published
“Gerrymandering Vietnam Style: Escaping the Partial Reform Equilibrium in a Non-Democratic Regime” Journal of Politics. Forthcoming.
“Where is Credit Due? Companies, Banks, and Locally Differentiated Investment Growth in Vietnam,” (with Marcus Taussig). Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization. Forthcoming.
“Straight Ahead on Red: How Foreign Direct Investment Empowers Subnational Leaders.” Journal of Politics 70 (1) (January 2008): 1-23.
“Provincial Governance and Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam.” in Twenty Years of Foreign Investment in Vietnam.” Ho Chi Minh City: Saigon Economic Times (2008).
"Leveled Mountains and Broken Fences: Measuring and Analyzing De Facto Decentralization in Vietnam." European Journal of South East Asian Studies 3, no. 2 (Winter 2004): 307-337.
“Push, Pull, and Reinforcing: The Channels of FDI Influence on Provincial Governance in Vietnam." in Beyond Hanoi: Local Governance in Vietnam, edited by Ben Kerkvliet and David Marr. Singapore: Institute for South East Asian Studies and NIAS Press (2004).
"Entrepreneurs on the Periphery: A Study of Private Sector Development in Vietnam's Periphery Provinces.” Mekong Private Sector Development Facility (MPDF) Private Sector Discussion Papers 18 (November 2004).
Also see MPDF Business Issues Bulletin discussing the above paper.
“The Model and the Reality: Assessment of Vietnamese SOE Reform - Implementation at the Firm -Level.” with Vu Thanh Hung, Vu Thi Dieu Anh, and Nancy K. Napier. Working Paper Number 154. The William Davidson Institute Working Paper Series, University of Michigan, July 1998.
Presently Under Review at Top Political Science, Economics, and Southeast Asian Journals
“Foreign Investors: Agents of Transition. An Instrumental Variables Approach to Testing the Impact of FDI on Economic Reform.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in Chicago, IL, August 2007.
"Predictable Corruption and Investment Strategy: Evidence from a Natural Experiment and Survey of Cambodian Entrepreneurs" (with Krislert Samphantharak) Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in Chicago, IL, August 2007.
“Paint-by-Colors Democracy: The Stakes, Structure, Results, and Implications of the 2007 Vietnamese National Assembly Elections,” (with Paul Schuler).
Commissioned Research Reports and Articles
“The Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index: Measuring Economic Governance for Private Sector Development.” US AID’s Vietnam Competitiveness Inititative, Hanoi.
2007 Final Report, Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative Policy Paper #12
2006 Final Report, Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative Policy Paper #11
2005 Final Report, Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative Policy Paper #4
For more information, see interviews with author about the PCI.
Saigon Times (November 17, 2007).
Saigon Economic Times (November 8, 2007).
Vietnam Investment Review (July 14, 2006).
“The Provincial Business Environment Scorecard in Cambodia: A Measure of Economic Governance and Regulatory Policy.” Prepared for AusAid, The Asia Foundation and Mekong Private Sector Development Facility of the World Bank Group (2006). Also see MPDF Business Issues Bulletin discussing the above paper.
“Paths to Regulatory Reform: Moldova, Ukraine, and Vietnam,” (with David Ray and Linda Nemec). Developing Alternatives 11 (1 2006): 32-45.
“Implications of the Provincial Competitiveness Survey for National Policy,” (with Helle Weeke). Vietnam Business Forum (Hanoi: May 2007).
“Điều quan trọng hơn cả thứ hạng [Important Issues in the Ranking],” (with Dau Anh Tuan). Thời báo Kinh tế Sài Gòn [Saigon Economic Times] 23 (807 June 1, 2006). http://www.saigontimes.com.vn
“Provincial Economic Governance, Vol. 1, Key Determinants,” (with Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry). Prepared for The Asia Foundation (Hanoi: 2005).
“Provincial Economic Governance, Vol. 2. Best Practices,” (with Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry). Prepared for The Asia Foundation (Hanoi: 2006).
"Study of Foreign Direct Investment Environment in Ha Tinh Province, North-Central Vietnam." Prepared for Vietnamese-German Provincial Development Planning Project-Ha Tinh. Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Gmbh, (Eshborn: 2002)
“Provincial Superstars and Laggards: Local Government Influence on Private Sector Development” (with Amanda Carlier), Prepared for the World Bank (Hanoi: June, 2002).
"Results of Provincial Convergence Study: Barro and Sala-i-Martin Growth Divergence Model."
Prepared for World Bank’s use in the Vietnam Development Report, Chapter 4, 2002.
“Vietnam Business Incubator Feasibility Study,” Prepared for William Davidson Institute Business Assistance and Survey Project, (Ann Arbor: 1999).
“Nike Monitoring Final Report: El Salvador,” Prepared for Nike and Price Waterhouse, (Portland, Oregon: May 1998).
Recent Working Papers
Working Papers
“Vietnam through Chinese Eyes: Vertical and Horizontal Accountability in Single-Party Regimes,” (with Regina Abrami and Yu Zheng). Presented Conference on Communist Resilience, Dartmouth College, May 25-26, 2007.
“The Role of Veto Players in Economic Reform," (with Scott Gehlbach). Presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the International Society for New Institutional Economics, Iceland.
“Making Better Use of Business Survey Data: Thoughts on overcoming anchoring and nested data problems in interpreting business survey results,” Presented at Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, PA, August 2003.
“International Conflict and Endogenously Timed Elections,” (with Giacomo Chiozza), Presented at Annual Meeting of American Political Science Association, Boston, MA, August 28, 2002.
“Consitutional Design and Postcommunist Economic Reform,” (with Herbert Kitschelt), Presented at Annual Meeting of Midwest Political Science Conference in Chicago, Illinois, April 28, 2000.
