The Political Economy of Growth and Impoverishment in the Marcos Era

The experience of the Philippines from the 1960s to the 1980s vividly illustrates the interplay between wealth and power in the course of economic development. During this period, the benefits of economic growth conspicuously failed to trickle down. Broad sectors of the Filipino people experienced deepening poverty. Professor Boyce traces this outcome to the country's economic and political structure, and the to the development strategies pursued by the Philippine government and its international backers. Impressive gains in rice production via the "green revolution" failed to translate into less hunger. Profits from the country's agricultural exports--sugar, coconut, banana, and pineapple--were concentrated in the hands of a few. Forestry exports triggered severe environmental degradation, the main victims of which were the poor. Massive external borrowing financed capital flight rather than productive investment, and left the country with a crushing foreign debt burden. The Philippine experience provides important insights into the political economy of development.