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In-Depth Information
Economy
Life for many in the Mekong region has undergone a profound transition in the space of a
generation, even if the politics hasn't always come along for the ride. Laos and Vietnam are
one-party states which tolerate no opposition. But communism, the mantra for a generation,
has taken a back seat to capitalism and the rush to embrace the market. The result is a con-
tradictory blend of ultraliberal economics and ultraconservative politics that has left many
inhabitants confused about the country in which they live. They have the freedom to make
money but not the basic freedom to voice a political opinion. And the more the average
person engages with the outside world - through business, tourism, the internet - the harder
this paradox is to swallow.
Corruption remains a cancer throughout the Mekong region. Despite the best intentions
of a small minority, the worst intentions of many a politician continue to cost the Mekong
countries hundreds of millions of dollars in lost assets. Vietnam has started tackling corrup-
tion head on with high-profile executions and prison sentences. Senior party officials have
even been put away, but cronyism and nepotism remain alive and well. Laos suffers from
corruption, but the small size of the economy has kept enrichment to a minimum for now.
In Cambodia, corruption has been elevated to an art form. When asked to sum up the
country's problems in three words, former World Bank head James Wolfensohn famously
once said, 'Corruption, corruption, corruption.' Global anti-corruption watchdog Transpar-
ency International (TI) ranked Cambodia as the 160th most corrupt country in the world
out of 175 surveyed in 2013, behind such luminaries as the Democratic Republic of Congo
and Tajikistan. Laos ranked 140th, Vietnam 116th and Thailand 102nd.
According to most observers, corruption in Thailand worsened under Thaksin Sh-
inawatra, who created a new blend by mixing business and politics to turn the country into
'Shinawatra Plc'. Ultimately it backfired and he was overthrown, but with his younger sis-
ter Yingluck Shinawatra in power it appears to be business as usual again - Thailand's cor-
ruption ranking in the 2013 TI ranking was 14 places worse than in 2012. By contrast, Laos
improved by 20 places, while Vietnam registered a modest improvement.
Since shaking off the shadow of Marxist theory, the economies of the Mekong region
have been some of the fastest growing in the world. As the global economic crisis contin-
ues to unfold, nobody is certain what is in store for the export-oriented region. The Mekong
countries were quick to plug themselves into the global economy and now they are likely to
share the shock of its continuing collapse. However, the impact may be mild compared to
the West, with economies having to settle for sluggish growth rather than experiencing a
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