Crony capitalism is the scourge of contemporary Asia, lining pockets and diverting resources in ways that systematically undermine the public interest, accentuate disparities, sap innovative and entrepreneurial impulses — while also subverting governance.
Comprising the corrupt networks of power relations between businessmen and the state, and the institutionalized pilfering by those with favored access, it is a system in which connections matter more than merit. Government officials and politicians use their positions to bestow lucrative favors on relatives and cronies not only to enrich them and take a cut, but to nurture a supportive oligarchy that develops a shared interest in sustaining the entire system.
Selling access, sweetheart deals, insider information, licenses, monopolies, privileges, regulatory manipulation, cooking the books and legal shenanigans are all tools of this systematic plundering for private benefit.