Graduate School of Asia-Pacific StudiesWaseda University

Although economic development is not solely determined by governments’ public policies, governments play a critical role in determining the economic development path. My research question is “Why do some countries adopt public policies conducive to economic development, while others do not?” Political leaders have the final decision-making authority on public policy, and they can be viewed as acting with the aim of attaining and maintaining their position as a political leader. Each society has a political institution for electing a political leader, and there are resources that are useful for the political survival of a political leader under a specific political institution. We call such resources “competitive resources” in this presentation. It is assumed that a political leader chooses the members of his/her winning coalition, considering the distribution of competitive resources and the affinity between the political leader and various actors. Forming a winning coalition means deciding on which actors will benefit through public policies. The formation and implementation of public policy and the attainment and maintenance of political leadership positions are continuous and simultaneous processes. Adopting this analytical framework, we can shed light on new viewpoints of mainstream theories related to policymaking.