ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an in-depth and renewed political economy analysis of state-business nexuses in Malaysia through a less familiar institutionalist theoretical framework. The regulationist perspective carries a number of heuristic benefits as it provides a sharper understanding of the implications of state-business nexuses on macroeconomic issues by drawing attention to the complementarities that occur between different institutions when such ties are created. It allows for an appraisal of fundamental issues such as the inequitable distribution of power and its shifts under different prime ministers, despite the continuity of the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which have led to major policy changes. Since this mode of analysis does not assume nor require equilibrium at each point in time, the outcomes of economic crises and political turning points that have marked out Malaysia's development path can be incorporated into the picture.
