Record, Richard

Person:
Record, Richard

Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice

Author Name Variants

Record, Richard, Record, R., Record, Richard James Lowden

Fields of Specialization

Macroeconomics and fiscal policy, Fiscal management, Trade, Competitiveness, Public sector

Departments

Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice

Last updated:January 31, 2025

Biography

Richard Record is the Lead Economist for Malaysia in the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice. Based in Kuala Lumpur, he manages the Bank’s engagement on economic policy issues in Malaysia, including publication of the flagship Malaysia Economic Monitor and the report on Malaysia’s Digital Economy – A New Driver of Development. Richard has previously worked across a number of countries in the East Asia and Africa regions, managing programs on macroeconomics, trade and private sector development, including assignments based in Lilongwe, Vientiane and Hanoi. He holds bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in economics respectively from the London School of Economics, the School of Oriental and African Studies and the University of Manchester.

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Publication Search Results

Now showing1 - 10 of 11

Greater Heights: Growing to High Income in Europe and Central Asia
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-12) Iacovone, Leonardo; Izvorski, Ivailo; Kostopoulos, Christos; Lokshin, Michael M.; Record, Richard; Torre, Iván; Doczi, Szilvia
Twenty-seven countries have reached high-income status since 1990. Ten of these are in the Europe and Central Asia region and have joined the European Union. Another 20 in the region have become more prosperous since the 1990s. However, their transition to high-income status has been delayed. These middle-income countries have found that the prospects for growth to high-income status have become even more difficult since the 2007–09 global financial crisis. This reflects partly a slowdown in structural reforms at home and partly the challenges associated with a deterioration in the global environment. The concern has emerged that many countries in the region may be caught in the middle-income trap, a phase in development characterized by a recurring deceleration in growth and by per capita incomes that are systematically below the high-income threshold. To ensure that these countries overcome the obstacles to growth and achieve progress toward high-income status, policy makers need to make the transition from a strategy driven largely by investment to a strategy that is supported by the importation and diffusion of global capital, knowledge, and technology and then to a strategy that complements these with innovation. The report Greater Heights: Growing to High Income in Europe and Central Asia relies on the 3i strategy described in World Development Report 2024—investment, infusion, and innovation—to propose policy options to assist middle-income countries in Europe and Central Asia in the effort to reach high-income status. Drawing on comprehensive empirical analysis, the report offers actionable recommendations that will enable policy makers to advance stronger economic growth across the region. Such a transition will require continued and sustained foundational reform to maximize the drivers of economic growth while pivoting to new transformative reforms to promote the development of more complex economic structures and institutions. These involve the need to discipline incumbents, boost the role of the private sector, strengthen the competitive environment, and reward merit. The emphasis on a strategy driven by innovation is also critically important for those countries that have already attained high-income status.
The Pandemic’s Extensive Reform Agenda: How Can the Development Community Contribute?
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-15) Smets, Lodewijk; Record, Richard James Lowden
The COVID-19 crisis requires policy reforms on many fronts, from debt sustainability to climate-smart recovery. This Research & Policy brief draws on theory and empirical evidence to explore the opportunities for the international development community to support policy and institutional reform. The focus is on four dimensions of support: conditional financing, policy dialogue, analytical work, and political institutions. While budget support is important to close financing gaps, the Brief argues that high-quality analytical work and policy dialogue may be needed for sustained reform success. Although political institutions determine public policy, the Brief cautions that supporting changes in the political system may lead to unintended consequences. The Research & Policy brief concludes with a discussion and some avenues for future research in this field.
From Falling Behind to Catching Up: A Country Economic Memorandum for Malawi
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018) Record, Richard; Kumar, Praveen; Kandoole, Priscilla
This book aims to improve readers’ understanding of the puzzle of Malawi’s development performance and identify ways for the country to achieve robust growth and stay on a stable growth path that helps the poor. The book places a strong emphasis on assessing Malawi’s growth experience since independence from a comparative international perspective. This book first discusses Malawi’s macroeconomic situation and challenges in fiscal management, reviewing and drawing lessons from the instability, slippages, and shocks experienced since independence. Second, it explores the current state of agricultural markets, given the critical role of this sector in poverty reduction. Third, looking at the factors that may constrain higher growth in the future, challenges in private sector development and job creation are discussed. Building on the analysis of challenges, the book concludes with a summary of policy recommendations to help Malawi to begin catching up with its peers.
Malawi Economic Monitor, November 2017: Land for Inclusive Development
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-11-01) Kalemba, Sunganani; Kandoole, Priscilla; Stylianou, Eleni; Record, Richard; Chilima, Efrem; Deininger, Klaus; Kufeyani, Linly
The Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM) provides an analysis of economic and structural development issues in Malawi. The aim of the publication is to foster better-informed policy analysis and debate regarding the key challenges that Malawi faces in its endeavor to achieve high rates of stable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. Malawi’s economy is primarily based on agriculture and heavily reliant on its land resources to achieve social and economic development. The recently promulgated land acts have the potential to create multiple economic and social benefits for Malawi's citizens by improving investor confidence in the business environment, reducing the cost of documenting rights, supporting decentralization, improving land use planning, and protecting vulnerable groups’ land rights and livelihoods. The effective implementation of these critical land reforms will ultimately facilitate the attainment of inclusive growth, boost productivity, and generate additional revenue for the government. The MEM consists of two parts: part one presents a review of recent economic developments and a macroeconomic outlook. Part two focuses on a special selected topic relevant to Malawi’s development prospects.
2016 Malawi Investment Climate: A Review of Challenges Faced by the Private Sector
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017) Chilima, Efrem; Mwanza, William; Clarke, George; Record, Richard
The World Bank conducts investment climate assessments (ICAs) across the globe to analyze private sector performance and to determine principal constraints affecting the private sector in respective countries. The 2016 Malawi ICA focuses on supporting dialogue on investment climate by analyzing the challenges reported by private enterprises in the country. It is the second in a series, following the first one that was published in 2006. The 2016 Malawi ICA is based on the analysis of results from the World Bank enterprise survey conducted in 2014. Regression analysis on productivity levels of firms was conducted to present some insights into the competitiveness of manufacturing firms. The productivity analysis reveals that firms in Malawi have higher levels of labor productivity and capital intensity, but lower levels of capital productivity than their counterparts in neighboring countries. Unit labor costs are lower than in most comparator countries. The results are predominantly with respect to large firms, with medium firms in Malawi facing lower levels of labor productivity and capital intensity, but higher levels of labor costs than small and large firms. Apart from the foregoing measures of partial productivity, total factor productivity is lower than in most comparator countries.
Glass Barriers: Constraints to Women's Small-Scale Cross-Border Trade in Cambodia and Lao PDR
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-11) Seror, Marlon; Record, Richard; Clarke, Julian
Trade facilitation projects often assume indirect benefits for small-scale, cross-border traders. Recent studies have shown the challenges faced in Africa by this population, especially women, but it remains unknown in Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, despite large trade facilitation investments. This paper fills this gap, thanks to an innovative mix of original qualitative and quantitative data from various checkpoints on the borders with Thailand and Vietnam. The quantitative data, collected in 2014, consist of an exhaustive list of trade-related border crossings during two to three days and a survey of 158 randomly selected small-scale, cross-border traders and brokers. The paper combines qualitative data and statistical techniques to shed light on the structure of the small-scale, cross-border trade economy, traders' and brokers' profiles, the challenges they face, and potential solutions, with a particular emphasis on gender. Key challenges pertain to taxation and poor infrastructures. Narrow roads, insufficient parking space, and restrictive border regulations on transportation means cause traffic jams and delays. These disproportionately affect women, who are more time constrained. Despite a rather moderate tax pressure, widespread informal payments erode traders' and brokers' willingness to comply with taxes. Women suffer from a higher tax rate and a tax schedule that deters them from upgrading to more profitable cross-border trade activities. Along with capital constraints, this finding may explain the lower share of women in small-scale, cross-border trade than among own-account workers and the self-employed, as evidenced by nationally representative data. The paper delineates policy implications and puts forward concrete steps.
Malawi Economic Monitor, October 2016: Emerging Stronger
(World Bank, Lilongwe, Malawi, 2016-10) Chilima, Efrem; Record, Richard; Kalemba, Sunganani; Kandoole, Priscilla; von Carnap, Tillman
The Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM) provides ananalysis of economic and structural developmentissues in Malawi. This edition of the MEM waspublished in October 2016. It follows on from thethree previous editions of the MEM, and is part of an ongoing series, with future editions to follow twiceper year. The aim of the publication is to foster better-informed policy analysis and debate regarding the key challenges that Malawi faces in its endeavors to achieve high rates of stable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The MEM consists of two parts: Part one presents areview of recent economic developments and amacroeconomic outlook. Part two focuses in greater depth on a special, selected topic relevant to Malawi’s development prospects.In this edition of the MEM, the focus of the specialtopic is on poverty and vulnerability. At a time when Malawi is experiencing a second successive year offood insecurity, the special topic focuses on the key factors that have led to persistently high povertyrates in rural areas, with these factors contributing significantly to vulnerability to the impact of climate shocks. The special topic also identifies and describes potential pathways and reforms thatcould help Malawi improve its level of resilience to better manage the impact of future shocks.
Malawi Economic Monitor, October 2015: Adjusting in Turbulent Times
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-10) Asim, Salman; Record, Richard; Chilima, Efrem; Kandoole, Priscilla; Kalemba, Sunganani
The Malawi economic monitor (MEM) provides an analysis of economic and structural development issues in Malawi. The aim of the publication is to foster better informed policy analysis and debate regarding the key challenges that Malawi faces in its endeavors to achieve high rates of stable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. The focus of the special topic is on the effectiveness of public spending on primary education and the means by which this can be improved. With more than half of Malawi’s population under the age of 18, the country faces significant challenges in its efforts to provide quality education to a growing population of students. Malawi also faces ongoing fiscal pressures, so there is a need to find ways to maximize the development impact within the limits of the finite resources available for investment in education. The MEM consists of two parts: part one presents a review of recent economic developments and a macroeconomic outlook. Part two focuses in greater depth on a special, selected topic relevant to Malawi’s development prospects.
The Experience of Survival: Determinants of Export Survival in Lao PDR
(Elsevier, 2015-07-09) Stirbat, Liviu; Record, Richard; Nghardsaysone, Konesawang
This paper explores monthly, firm-level customs records from Laos in the period 2005–10. We analyze the role of two important and related determinants of export survival, experience, and networks, which are particularly relevant for developing countries. We go beyond previous studies by disaggregating contract terminations to consider the possibility of upgrades to superior products. Having prior experience with the export product and destination and strong networks of similar firms has a strong positive impact on chances of simple export survival. The likelihood of upgrading is boosted by destination experience but lowered by familiarity with the product.
Determinants of Export Survival in the Lao PDR
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-01) Stirbat, Liviu; Record, Richard; Nghardsaysone, Konesawang
This paper explores a rich dataset of monthly firm-level data on the population of exporters of Lao PDR from 2005 to 2010. The survival analysis uses a discrete-time logistic model based on firm-product-destination triplets while accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. It looks in detail at the role played by two important and related determinants of survival: experience and networks. These are particularly relevant for developing countries, where relevant export experience in firms is likely to be limited and networks leveraging it all the more important. The analysis reveals the positive impact of having prior experience with the export product and destination, experience with importing, as well as using a developed neighboring country as launch platform. Networks are found to be most relevant when they are most specific -- the largest impact comes from province level aggregations of firms selling the same product in the same market during a particular month. A competing risks model was also investigated to discern the impact of these determinants on the likelihood of experiencing an upgrade to a superior product versus termination when a trade contract ends.