Business systems, value chains and inclusive regional development in South-East Asia

Regional economic development is played out in a network of relations along value chains and within a territorial setting. Chain insertion favours growth but also exclusion or inclusion on adverse terms. This may happen at different levels of scale, especially when a nation-state has not produced a cohesive institutional setting. Territorial control can be used to mitigate this effect. Even so, territorially based power does not necessarily work towards inclusive development. Local or national elites can use their power to determine the regional development agenda, often using scaling to their advantage. This is illustrated with case studies from five regions in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.