Analyzing Political Risks in Developing Countries: A Practical Framework for Project Managers

Business and Politics, Forthcoming

25 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2012 Last revised: 1 Oct 2013

See all articles by Saumitra Jha

Saumitra Jha

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Date Written: March 15, 2013

Abstract

This paper illustrates a practical framework for understanding and predicting political economy risk for project managers operating in a variety of developing country settings, including non-democracies, ethnically diverse environments and societies undergoing political transition. In doing so, the paper also develops a number of novel cases illustrating the effectiveness of this framework in helping us understand both surprising success and failure in the realms of sustainable, private sector and human development. These cases include Tata Nano's difficulties in locating its automobile plant in West Bengal, how a small NGO, the Mehta Foundation, helped secure passage of green fuel mandates in Delhi over strong political opposition and the sustained success of Mexico's pioneering conditional cash transfer program - Progressa/Oportunidades - in an environment of dramatic political regime change.

Keywords: government and business, community development, politics, economic development, public opinion

Suggested Citation

Jha, Saumitra, Analyzing Political Risks in Developing Countries: A Practical Framework for Project Managers (March 15, 2013). Business and Politics, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2001043 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2001043

Saumitra Jha (Contact Author)

Stanford Graduate School of Business ( email )

655 Knight Way
Stanford, CA 94305-5015
United States

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