The Political Economy of Tobacco Control in Southeast Asia : A Collaborative Research Project between SEATCA, Duke University’s Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and American Cancer Society funded by NIH Fogarty.
By political economy, we refer to the interrelationships between political processes and economic variables that influence the course of tobacco control policy. From taxes to trade of tobacco, these issues are inherently challenging – transdisciplinary in nature, often regional in scope and implications, and not bounded by only health concerns in the larger context of development. Our preliminary foci fall upon seven countries in the Southeast Asian region: Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The specific aims of this project are to:
1) Conduct research that examines the political economy of tobacco control and its impact on health in Southeast Asia
The program team will create a database inventory of tobacco control research in the region and build a repository of resource materials and research tools to support the work of country researchers.
2) Support studies and convenings that situate the impact of tobacco into the larger context of sustainable development
The program would undertake studies and convenings that would estimate the prevention gains from various tobacco control strategies, examine the disparate impact of tobacco use on vulnerable groups and evaluate the impact of tobacco tax revenues which becomes a source of innovative financing.
3) Build capacity and networking of researchers in Southeast Asia to enable a strong, local evidence base for tobacco control and to encourage effective translation of research into policy
Several key components to capacity building are empirical evidence, infrastructure, and networking and leadership. The research findings will situate the impact of tobacco into the larger context of sustainable development responding to the need for empirical evidence to move policy. The infrastructure proposed under this grant strengthens SEATC’s ties to a cohort of researchers that will generate a strong, local evidence base for tobacco control in years to come.
Scaling this up to a regional network affords multiple advantages: the opportunity for cross-country comparison and cross-border learning, the potential for building up research centers of excellence that could serve a region and a community of colleagues.
For more information, please contact project coordinator, Ms.Nannaphat Mathanee nannaphat@seatca,org
