{"product_id":"9789819263134","title":"Reform Gridlock and the Middle Income Trap Democracy, Institutions, and Development in Asia and the Pacific","description":"\u003ch3\u003eContributions to Economics\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eReform Gridlock and the Middle Income Trap\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDemocracy, Institutions, and Development in Asia and the Pacific\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eNiraj Prasad Koirala | Dil Bahadur Rahut | Bambang Brodjonegoro\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eBusiness \u0026amp; Economics \/ Development \/ Economic Development\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Open Access book offers a comprehensive analysis of why many economies stall at the middle-income level despite early industrial success. Moving beyond conventional economic explanations, it frames the Middle-Income Trap (MIT) as an institutional equilibrium shaped by political fragmentation, governance quality, and reform capacity. Drawing on cross-national econometric evidence, dynamic models, and in-depth case studies, including the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, the book shows that escaping the Middle-Income Trap requires more than capital accumulation or technology adoption. It requires coherent institutions capable of sustaining long-term reforms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book introduces novel indices, such as the Institutional Coherence and Reform Readiness Index and the Elite Bargain Index, to quantify governance dynamics and their impact on productivity. It explores how institutional coherence amplifies innovation, why decentralization can fragment reform momentum, and how elite bargains can create stability at the cost of transformation. Later chapters examine emerging challenges, including climate change, digital technologies, and fintech, and argue that these forces magnify existing institutional strengths and weaknesses rather than substitute for reform.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCombining theoretical rigor with policy relevance, this book provides actionable insights for scholars, policymakers, and development practitioners. It concludes with a forward-looking framework for national and regional strategies to overcome reform inertia and achieve inclusive, innovation-driven growth in Asia and the Pacific and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNiraj P. Koirala\u003c\/strong\u003e, a Nepali national, is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at California State University (CSU). His research specialization lies in applied macroeconomics and development economics. Before joining CSU, he worked as a visiting assistant professor at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Texas Tech University.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBambang Brodjonegoro\u003c\/strong\u003e, an Indonesian national, is the Dean and CEO of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Before joining ADBI in April 2025 he was Special Advisor to the President of the Republic of Indonesia for Economic Affairs and National Development. He served the Government of Indonesia in several senior leadership roles from 2011. He was Indonesia’s Minister of Finance (2014-2016), Minister of National Development Planning (2016-2019), and Minister of Research and Technology (2019-2021). Besides government and academic roles, he also served as Director General of Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) (2009-2010). He Brodjonegoro holds a doctorate and master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, where he was full Professor and serving as Dean during 2005-2009.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDil B. Rahut\u003c\/strong\u003e is Vice-Chair of Research and a Senior Economist at the Asian Development Bank Institute. His research focuses on development microeconomics, agricultural economics, and environmental and natural resource economics. Prior to joining ADBI, he was a Senior Global Program Manager for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre’s (CIMMYT) socioeconomics and sustainable intensification programs and served as Chair of the Staff Committee at CIMMYT. He also previously worked for the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan’s Research and Statistics Department and served as a Research Fellow at the WorldFish Centre; Senior Fellow and Japan Chair at the Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations; Chief of Research, Planning, and Monitoring and Visa\/Mastercard Director at the Bank of Bhutan Ltd; and Assistant Professor of Development Economics at South Asian University. He has over 265 publications in Scopusindexed journals and has guest-edited several books and journal special issues. He also serves as an editorial board member of journals such as Asian Development Review, China Agricultural Economic Review, Review of Development Economics, and Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e04 February 2027\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAsian Development Bank Institute\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpringer\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9789819263134\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Asian Development Bank Institute","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53977388581004,"sku":"9789819263134","price":53.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9789819263134","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}