The Philippines: The Political Economy of Growth and Impoverishment in the Marcos Era

by James K. Boyce

This book analyzes the Philippine economy from the 1960s to the 1980s. During this period, the benefits of economic growth conspicuously failed to 'trickle down'. Despite rising per capita income, broad sectors of the Filipino population experienced deepening poverty. Tracing this outcome to the country's economic and political structure, Professor Boyce focuses upon three central elements of the government's development the 'green revolution' in rice agriculture; the primacy accorded to export agriculture and forestry; and massive external borrowing.

Genres: History, Economics

420 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Michael David · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's heavy and heady stuff, but Boyce capably debunks claims regarding the economic progress of the Philippines during the Marcos regime. Not only was there general mismanagement of Philippines' natural resources, there was also rampant corruption and an "immiserizing growth" that victimized the Philippines' poorest of the poor.

Both "The Green Revolution" and the so-called land reform were merely mirages: Marcos simply changed the owners or leasers of government land to those who were sympathetic to him and his regime. Not only did the Philippines eventually have to deal with ballooning debt that Filipinos still repaid long after his death, it also had to face the non-monetary costs of deforestation and poor resource management.

It's a sobering and enlightening book.