Global Capital, Local Inequality: The Political Economy of the Industrial Revolution and Region-Based Development Agglomeration in West Nusa Tenggara in the Era of Decentralization

Zulkarnain Zulkarnain (University of Mataram)
Mahmuluddin Mahmuluddin (University of Mataram)
Sirwan Yazid Bustami (University of Mataram)
Sania Cahaya Qalbi (University of Mataram)
Wiwik Febriyanti (University of Mataram)

Neo Journal of economy and social humanities
Vol 5 No 2 (2026): Neo Journal of Economy and Social Humanities

This article examines how global industrial capital interacts with decentralization to produce uneven territorial development in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Bridging international political economy with new economic geography, enclave-economy theory, critical geography, human-capital analysis, and fiscal federalism, it asks why growth poles fail to diffuse prosperity across peripheral regions. The study uses a critical-interpretive qualitative case design based on eighteen semi-structured interviews, two focus groups, official statistics, and Klassen Typology and Williamson Index analysis for 2013–2025. Findings show that mining-led growth in West Sumbawa generates macroeconomic volatility and weak local linkages, while the Mandalika Special Economic Zone combines investment with labor segmentation, economic leakage, and agrarian tensions. Eastern agrarian districts remain vulnerable, and transfer-dependent decentralization does not adequately correct these disparities. The article argues that global capital agglomeration, when mediated by unequal local capabilities and weak redistributive institutions, turns decentralization into a mechanism of spatial polarization rather than territorial convergence.