The Papua New Guinean malaise: from redistributive politics to a failing state

Abstract

Do the current governance problems in Papua New Guinea have a political, cultural or economic basis? While politics and culture have no doubt been important, it is argued that the economic policies adopted at independence are responsible for many of the governance problems that are proving so difficult to overcome. In particular, the adoption of the recommendations of the Faber Report of 1973, with their emphasis on localisation and redistributive policies rather than policies that would have supported economic growth, led to predatory behaviour by the political ?lite that undermined the process of legitimisation of economic, political and administrative institutions.