Abstract

This paper studies the political economy of the Southeast Asian haze and discusses the obstacles that, unless overcome, could prevent a permanent and effective solution to this transboundary pollution problem, which originates in Indonesia. Following a cost-benefit analysis of the problem, the paper takes note of the weaknesses in Indonesia’s governance structure, which make it difficult to enforce national policies aimed at curbing the haze problem. It also puts forward a number of suggestions for strengthening the current policy regime for tackling the problem.

About the Author

Parkash Chander is a Fellow of the Econometric Society. His work has been published in Econometrica, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Public Economics and other leading economics journals as well as in the popular media, including the Economic and Political Weekly, The Straits Times and The Hindu. He is on the editorial board of several international journals. He has been a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University and many other institutions. He was formerly head of the Department of Economics, National University of Singapore, and of the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi. He is currently Professor and Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Economics and Climate Change at the Jindal Global University.

This work was completed during the author’s visit to the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) as NTUC Chair professor. He is grateful to RSIS for its hospitality and stimulating intellectual environment.