ABSTRACT
Global and regional economic liberalisation has produced many outcomes, positive and negative, for individuals, producers’ groups, and local communities in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). This chapter explores how key development processes have acted on the GMS, particularly in relation to its economic growth versus community construction. The overall assessment is that rapid economic progress produces rising incomes and reduces poverty throughout the region. Yet the response by local communities to increased economic openness, flexibility, and migration remains more adaptive than formative. In addition, there are few signs that economic liberalisation and growth have significantly improved social institutions that govern income distribution in the GMS countries. Furthermore, while the Mekong allows disparate communities to be placed under a common regional banner, the shared geographical feature has yet to result in the construction of a Subregional community identity or effective Subregional government cooperation in the use and management of the Mekong’s water resources.
