Corruption and poor institutional quality have been considered a cause of the
vicious cycle between economic development and growing inequality. The examination
of the current state in the region underlines that most developing Southeast
Asian countries, especially Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, the
Philippines, and Viet Nam, are behind countries at the same level of development
in terms of good governance and institutional quality. Given the importance of
improving governance and institutional quality in alleviating inequality, it is critical
that governments address political – in addition to social and economic –
inclusion and participation, and strengthen accountability and transparency of
political and regulatory procedures.