Ly Slesman

@ubd.edu.bn

Senior Assistant Professor, Centre for Advanced Research
Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Ly Slesman


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https://researchid.co/slesman.ly

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Economics and Econometrics, Development
24

Scopus Publications

958

Scholar Citations

10

Scholar h-index

10

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • DOES FOREIGN AID PROMOTE DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS IN POST-CONFLICT CAMBODIA? EVIDENCE FROM ARDL BOUNDS TESTING APPROACH
    LY SLESMAN
    Singapore Economic Review, 2026
    Whether foreign aid promotes or hinders democratic institutions has been debated with opposing views. This paper investigates short- and long-run effects of foreign aid on democratization in post-conflict Cambodia using autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing and Gregory–Hansen structural break testing approach for cointegration over 1980–2015 period. The findings reveal that net bilateral foreign aid per capita, aggregated and classified into purpose-based ‘governance aid’, ‘economic aid’, ‘other aid’ and ‘donor-specific aid’ from the US, EU, France, Australia and Japan, promote long-run democratization. In the short run, only governance and economic aid appear to have a consistent positive effect on democratization.
  • Natural Resource Rents and Economic Development: Evidence from Brunei Darussalam
    Ly Slesman
    Asia in Transition, 2025
    This chapter examines Brunei Darussalam’s economic development from the perspective of an oil and gas-dependent economy. First, using relevant socio-economic indicators, it assesses the economic structures, tracing their evolution to their current forms, the dynamics of Brunei’s reliance on the oil and gas sector, and the relative importance of the non-oil and gas sector in its economic progress. Is Brunei’s experience with oil and gas dependency in line with the ‘resource curse’ or ‘resource blessing’ viewpoints? What do the data say? The analysis provides answers to these questions by quantifying short- and long-run effects of oil and gas rents on economic growth over the 1970–2019 period using the dynamic time series econometric modelling framework of the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. Given the importance of economic diversification in achieving Wawasan Brunei 2035 (Brunei Vision 2035), the chapter further discusses its progress and challenges.
  • Quality adjusted financial development and the Entrepreneurship-Growth Nexus
    Hazwan Haini, Ly Slesman
    Applied Economics Letters, 2025
    The relationship between new business formation and economic growth can be supported by financial development. However, we argue that not all finance can spur entrepreneurial activity and that the quality of finance matters. Using data from 78 economies from 2006 to 2020, we estimate a dynamic growth model that accounts for potential endogeneity and simultaneity issues and an interaction term that captures the dynamic effects between entrepreneurial creation and quality-adjusted financial measures. We find some evidence that quality-adjusted measures of private credit that accounts for volatility and liquidity can moderate the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth. However, we also find that higher levels of quality-adjusted finance can crowd out the growth effects of new business formation, in line with the 'too much finance' view. Policy implications are discussed.
  • Taming the Tides of Internal Conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Political Institutions and Natural Resources
    Ly Slesman, Ali Kole, Rizgar Abdlkarim Abdlaziz, Ibrahim D. Raheem
    Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, 2024
    This article examines the interaction effects of resource rents and political institutions on internal conflicts in a panel of 29 Sub-Sahara African countries from 1983 to 2018. Relying on the system generalized method of moments (SGMM) estimator that controls for instrument proliferation, we find robust evidence of the adverse interaction effects between resource rents and political institutions on internal conflicts. Comprehensive marginal effect analysis on both variables reveals the following significant findings. First, there is a (broad) U-shaped marginal effect of resource rents and political institutions. Second, when each component of resource rents was analyzed, only oil and mineral rents had a negative and statistically significant interaction effect with political institutions on internal conflicts. The U-shaped marginal effects hold only for oil rents (but become narrower), while mineral rents exhibit only an L-shaped marginal effect at low levels of political institutions. Our findings are robust to a broad set of alternative measures of political institutions and alternative specifications of the interaction term.
  • Health Determinants of Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults in Brunei: A Multivariate Analysis
    Rou-Qin Hong, Hanif Abdul Rahman, Mursidi Ali, Chang-Yau Hoon, Ly Slesman, Armah Tengah, Yusnani Mohd Yusof-Kozlowski, Khadizah H. Abdul-Mumin
    Ageing International, 2024
  • Oil dependency and happiness in net oil-exporting countries: is it a curse or blessing?
    Ly Slesman
    Middle East Development Journal, 2024
    The resource curse hypothesis postulates that countries endowed with and dependent on abundant natural resources tend to underperform in socioeconomic and development outcomes than those with fewer natural resources. Recently, a few studies argued that this curse also manifests in lower life satisfaction or happiness. Focusing on 31 net oil-exporting countries over the 2006–2019 period, we find no evidence that oil rents (and aggregate and disaggregate resource rents) have an adverse effect on happiness or subjective well-being. This contrasts with recent studies using a global sample. We further contribute to this debate by examining the channels of resource curse or blessing along with income, unemployment, inflation, levels of human development, and governance. We show that oil rent enhances the positive marginal effects of income on happiness. We find no evidence of this conditional effect through other channels. Being rich in oil or natural resources is not necessarily a curse on happiness, but, if any, it is a blessing through income-generating well-being.
  • Does Foreign Aid Promote Foreign Direct Investment in Post-conflict Cambodia?
    Ly Slesman
    Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies, 2023
    Post-conflict Cambodia has experienced a significant increase in foreign aid and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows since the early 1990s. This paper investigates whether (aggregate, donor-specific, and sectoral-based disaggregate) foreign aid has any short- and long-run crowding-in effects on FDI inflows using autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound test for cointegration over the 1992–2018 post-conflict period. Robust findings reveal that aggregate development aid and ‘donor-specific’ aid from Australia and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) crowding-in FDI in the long run. Donor-specific aid from the EU, the US, Japan and France, and sectoralbased ‘governance aid’ and ‘other aid’ either have non-robust positive or no significant long-run effects on FDI. In the short run, however, only EU-aid and other-aid have crowding-in effects on FDI. Foreign development aid can catalyse FDI inflows in postconflict Cambodia, especially in the long run.
  • Can Money Buy Happiness? Income and Multidimensional Life Satisfaction in Brunei Darussalam
    LY SLESMAN, CHANG-YAU HOON, EVI NURVIDYA ARIFIN, NOOR AZAM HAJI-OTHMAN, ABBY TAN
    Asian Development Review, 2023
    This paper examines the nexus of income and multidimensional life satisfaction (LS) in the oil- and gas-rich Belait district of Brunei Darussalam. Using a random sample of 1,000 Belait residents and principal component factor analysis to sort 11 domains-of-life satisfaction into three uncorrelated LS spheres–LS with materialist life (job, stress, and income); LS with post-materialist life (family, spirituality, neighbors, and community activities); and LS with public life (health, neighborhood facility, feeling safe at home, and quality of living environment)—we discover the following. First, positive income effects on LS with materialist life sphere are evidenced from lower-middle- to high-income bands. Second, a positive income effect on LS with post-materialist life sphere is only found in the high-income band. Income does not relate to LS with public life sphere. These findings are robust to using each domains-of-life satisfaction and treating scores on domain satisfaction as ordinal and cardinal measures.
  • The elusive curse of natural resources on happiness
    Ly Slesman
    Resources Policy, 2022
  • Predictors of Satisfaction With Life and Health Status of Older People in Brunei: A Gender Comparative Study
    Hanif Abdul Rahman, Armah Tengah, Yusnani Mohd Yusof, Ly Slesman, Chang-Yau Hoon, Khadizah H. Abdul-Mumin
    International Journal of Public Health, 2022
    Objective: To investigate predictors of life satisfaction and healthy aging with focus on gender differences among older people in Brunei Darussalam.Methods: A cross-sectional study on older people recruited by proportionate sampling. Multiple linear regression stratified by gender was applied.Results: 45.6% of life satisfaction of older women were strongly associated with self-perceived health, social relationship, and education level. For older men, 26.3% of the variance of life satisfaction was predicted by physical functioning or disability, and social relationship. For older women, 38.9% of the variance of health status can be explained with satisfaction with life, and difficulty to do daily tasks. For older men, 33.1% of the variance of health status can be accounted by income, number of children, presence of chronic illness, and diabetes.Conclusion: This paper discusses the unique gender differences of older people from a global perspective. Policymakers and stakeholders need to account for local and contextual differences before adopting international guideline. Particularly, on the maintenance or further promotion social interactions, active engaging elderly in health maintenance, and physical and mental functioning of the older population.
  • Self-rated health and perceived environmental quality in Brunei Darussalam: A cross-sectional study
    Evi Nurvidya Arifin, Chang-Yau Hoon, Ly Slesman, Abby Tan
    BMJ Open, 2022
  • Islam, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development
    Asma Rauf, Yazid Abubakar, Ayesha Abrar, Madiha Gohar, Ly Slesman, Jay Mitra
    Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, 2022
  • Remittance–institutional quality nexus: curse or blessing
    Zakaria Lacheheb, Normaz Wana Ismail, N.A.M. Naseem, Ly Slesman
    Studies in Economics and Finance, 2022
  • Oil revenue and agriculture value-added in oil-exporting countries: does the role of real exchange rate matter?
    Rizgar Abdlkarim Abdlaziz, N.A.M. Naseem, Ly Slesman
    International Journal of Energy Sector Management, 2022
  • Foreign direct investment and entrepreneurship: Does the role of institutions matter?
    Ly Slesman, Yazid Abdullahi Abubakar, Jay Mitra
    International Business Review, 2021
  • The impact of oil price shocks on the military expenditure of selected mena oil exporting countries: Symmetric and asymmetric cointegration analysis
    Iranian Economic Review, 2021
  • The nonlinear impact of political institutional quality on financial inclusion
    Zakaria Lachebeb, Normaz Wana Ismail, Mohd Naseem Niaz Ahmad, Ly Slesman
    Institutions and Economies, 2021
  • Political institutions and finance-growth nexus in emerging markets and developing countries: A tale of one threshold
    Ly Slesman, Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah, W.N.W. Azman-Saini
    Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 2019
  • Dutch disease effect of oil price on agriculture sector: Evidence from panel cointegration of oil exporting countries
    International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 2018
  • Types of Foreign Capital Inflows and Economic Growth: New Evidence on Role of Financial Markets
    Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah, Ly Slesman, Evelyn Shyamala Devadason
    Journal of International Development, 2017
  • Economic freedom, real exchange rates and economic growth in emerging markets and developing countries
    International Journal of Economics and Management, 2017
  • Inflation, inflation uncertainty, and economic growth in emerging and developing countries: Panel data evidence
    Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah, Ly Slesman, Mark E. Wohar
    Economic Systems, 2016
  • Institutional infrastructure and economic growth in member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
    Ly Slesman, Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah, Wahabuddin Ra'ees
    Economic Modelling, 2015
  • Capital Inflows and Economic Growth: Does the Role of Institutions Matter?
    Ly Slesman, Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah, Mark E. Wohar
    International Journal of Finance and Economics, 2015

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Quality adjusted financial development and the Entrepreneurship-Growth Nexus
    H Haini, L Slesman
    Applied Economics Letters 32 (13), 1951-1955 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Glowing gains for Brunei despite diversification growing pains
    L Slesman, CY Hoon
    East Asia Forum , 2025
    2025
  • Natural resource rents and economic development: evidence from Brunei Darussalam
    L Slesman
    Brunei Darussalam’s Economic Transition in a Shifting Global Asia, 39-67 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 2
  • Development: Evidence from Brunei
    L Slesman
    Brunei Darussalam’s Economic Transition in a Shifting Global Asia, 39 , 2025
    2025
  • BRUNEI DARUSSALAM IN 2024
    L Slesman, CY Hoon
    Southeast Asian Affairs, 63-80 , 2025
    2025
  • Brunei Darussalam in 2024: Steady Growth Amidst New Opportunities and Ongoing Challenges
    L Slesman, CY Hoon
    Southeast Asian Affairs 2025 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Taming the tides of internal conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa: the role of political institutions and natural resources
    L Slesman, A Kole, RA Abdlaziz, ID Raheem
    Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies 16 (2), 188-211 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 5
  • Health determinants of life satisfaction among older adults in Brunei: A multivariate analysis
    RQ Hong, H Abdul Rahman, M Ali, CY Hoon, L Slesman, A Tengah, ...
    Ageing International 49 (1), 64-77 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 4
  • Oil dependency and happiness in net oil-exporting countries: is it a curse or blessing?
    L Slesman
    Middle East Development Journal 16 (1), 1-26 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 6
  • The Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Bank Profitability: Evidence from Developing Countries
    SA Aziz, LA Razak, L Slesman, M Abduh
    Journal of Theoretical and Applied Management 17 (2), 203-215 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 2
  • Does foreign aid promote foreign direct investment in post-conflict Cambodia?
    L Slesman
    Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies 60 (2), 163-188 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 4
  • ADB Distinguished Speaker Lecture—The Economics of Investing in COVID-19 Vaccines: Implications for the Asian Development Bank
    M Kremer
    Asian Development Review 40 (01), 1-12 , 2023
    2023
  • Can money buy happiness? Income and multidimensional life satisfaction in Brunei Darussalam
    L Slesman, CY Hoon, EN Arifin, NA Haji-Othman, A Tan
    Asian Development Review 40 (01), 113-150 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 9
  • Cambodia’s Path to Green and Circular Economy
    L Slesman
    Mekong Connect 5 (1), 17-23 , 2023
    2023
  • BRUNEI DARUSSALAM IN 2022: Towards Post COVID-19 Economic Recovery, Diversification and Sustainability
    L Slesman, CY Hoon
    Southeast Asian Affairs 2023 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 6
  • Oil and Gas Dependence of Brunei Economy: Current Progress and Challenges
    L Slesman, R Baha
    Stability, Growth and Sustainability: Catalysts for Socio-Economic … , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 6
  • The elusive curse of natural resources on happiness
    L Slesman
    Resources Policy 79, 103112 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 13
  • Predictors of satisfaction with life and health status of older people in Brunei: A gender comparative study
    HA Rahman, A Tengah, YM Yusof, L Slesman, CY Hoon, ...
    International Journal of Public Health 67, 1605042 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 6
  • Self-rated health and perceived environmental quality in Brunei Darussalam: a cross-sectional study
    EN Arifin, CY Hoon, L Slesman, A Tan
    BMJ open 12 (8), e060799 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 8
  • Islam, entrepreneurship and economic development
    A Rauf, Y Abubakar, A Abrar, M Gohar, L Slesman, J Mitra
    Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies 8 (2), 270-273 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 9

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Inflation, inflation uncertainty, and economic growth in emerging and developing countries: Panel data evidence
    AZ Baharumshah, L Slesman, ME Wohar
    Economic Systems 40 (4), 638-657 , 2016
    2016
    Citations: 190
  • Institutional infrastructure and economic growth in member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
    L Slesman, AZ Baharumshah, W Ra'ees
    Economic Modelling 51, 214-226 , 2015
    2015
    Citations: 168
  • Foreign direct investment and entrepreneurship: does the role of institutions matter?
    L Slesman, YA Abubakar, J Mitra
    International Business Review 30 (4), 101774 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 123
  • Capital inflows and economic growth: does the role of institutions matter?
    L Slesman, AZ Baharumshah, ME Wohar
    International Journal of Finance & Economics 20 (3), 253-275 , 2015
    2015
    Citations: 115
  • Political institutions and finance-growth nexus in emerging markets and developing countries: A tale of one threshold
    L Slesman, AZ Baharumshah, WNW Azman-Saini
    The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 72, 80-100 , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 100
  • Types of foreign capital inflows and economic growth: New evidence on role of financial markets
    AZ Baharumshah, L Slesman, ES Devadason
    Journal of International Development 29 (6), 768-789 , 2017
    2017
    Citations: 76
  • Dutch Disease Effect of Oil Price on Agriculture Sector: Evidence from Panel Cointegration of Oil Exporting Countries
    RA Abdlaziz, NAM Naseem, L Slesman
    International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy 8 (5), 241-250 , 2018
    2018
    Citations: 52
  • Oil revenue and agriculture value-added in oil-exporting countries: does the role of real exchange rate matter?
    RA Abdlaziz, NAM Naseem, L Slesman
    International Journal of Energy Sector Management 16 (1), 171-190 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 20
  • The elusive curse of natural resources on happiness
    L Slesman
    Resources Policy 79, 103112 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 13
  • The nonlinear impact of political institutional quality on financial inclusion
    Z Lachebeb, NW Ismail, MNN Ahmad, L Slesman
    Institutions and Economies, 1-25 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 10
  • Can money buy happiness? Income and multidimensional life satisfaction in Brunei Darussalam
    L Slesman, CY Hoon, EN Arifin, NA Haji-Othman, A Tan
    Asian Development Review 40 (01), 113-150 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 9
  • Islam, entrepreneurship and economic development
    A Rauf, Y Abubakar, A Abrar, M Gohar, L Slesman, J Mitra
    Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies 8 (2), 270-273 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 9
  • Self-rated health and perceived environmental quality in Brunei Darussalam: a cross-sectional study
    EN Arifin, CY Hoon, L Slesman, A Tan
    BMJ open 12 (8), e060799 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 8
  • Does foreign aid promote democratic institutions in post-conflict Cambodia? Evidence from ARDL bounds testing approach
    L Slesman
    The Singapore Economic Review, 1-61 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 8
  • Oil dependency and happiness in net oil-exporting countries: is it a curse or blessing?
    L Slesman
    Middle East Development Journal 16 (1), 1-26 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 6
  • BRUNEI DARUSSALAM IN 2022: Towards Post COVID-19 Economic Recovery, Diversification and Sustainability
    L Slesman, CY Hoon
    Southeast Asian Affairs 2023 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 6
  • Oil and Gas Dependence of Brunei Economy: Current Progress and Challenges
    L Slesman, R Baha
    Stability, Growth and Sustainability: Catalysts for Socio-Economic … , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 6
  • Predictors of satisfaction with life and health status of older people in Brunei: A gender comparative study
    HA Rahman, A Tengah, YM Yusof, L Slesman, CY Hoon, ...
    International Journal of Public Health 67, 1605042 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 6
  • Taming the tides of internal conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa: the role of political institutions and natural resources
    L Slesman, A Kole, RA Abdlaziz, ID Raheem
    Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies 16 (2), 188-211 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 5
  • Economic Freedom, Real Exchange Rates and Economic Growth in Emerging Markets and Developing Countries
    L Slesman, NAM Naseem, RFM Aldomi
    International Journal of Economics and Management , 2017
    2017
    Citations: 5