Professor Guy Standing Seminar: Rentier Capitalism, Stagnation and the Precariat

“Work is the best route out of poverty? Not when wages that enable more debt.” – Professor Guy StandingOn 19 June 2025, Khazanah Research Institute (KRI), in collaboration with the Asia School of Business (ASB), had the privilege of hosting acclaimed economist Professor Guy Standing for a seminar titled “Rentier Capitalism, Stagnation and the Precariat.”A leading voice on inequality and labour rights, Professor Standing drew on decades of scholarship and global policy experience, spanning the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO), President Mandela’s Labour Market Commission, and the Basic Income Earth Network, to dissect how today’s economic structures deepen precarity and erode livelihoods. His influential books, including The Precariat, The Corruption of Capitalism, and The Blue Commons, have sparked global conversations on economic justice and the future of work.The seminar concluded with an insightful dialogue between Professor Standing, Professor Melati Nungsari (Deputy Dean of Research, ASB), and Professor Jomo Kwame Sundaram (Research Advisor, KRI), delving into the intersections between rentierism, policy stagnation, and the urgent need for systemic change.We thank all who joined us for this timely and provocative exchange of ideas.#KhazanahResearchInstitute #KRI #AdvancingMalaysia #FutureOfWork #EconomicJustice