ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that development is affected not only by contemporary state capacity but by ancient state capacity. It also traces the variations in state capacity in the hereditary kingdoms of pre-colonial Southeast Asia. Ancient state capacity explains much of the growth of modern Thailand and Vietnam and the lack of same in Laos. Cambodia squandered its old-kingdom advantages by mismanagement in the modern era. According to indicators of government corruption used by the World Bank and Transparency International, Cambodia has one of the most corrupt governments in the world. One might assume that because of an abundance of natural resources, Cambodia would have the funds to increase human capital and infrastructural development. A comparative analysis of these four Southeast Asian nations is useful because they all have Buddhist religious traditions. Moreover, these neighboring countries include both two of the most rapidly developing nations in recent decades and two of the poorest countries in the world.
