Corruption: The Boom and Bust of East Asia

by J. Edgardo Campos (Editor)

Governance and corruption have finally come to the fore of the development debate. While interest in governance began to surge in the early 1990s, the East Asian crisis has catapulted the issue to prominence. Analysts and academics, in a spate of articles and books, have added their voices to the chorus of criticism of the so-called Asian miracle. Their verdict: Bad governance and corruption did the miracle countries in.Taking a different perspective, this book asks and attempts to answer how these countries were able to attract enormous amounts of investment and enjoy rapid growth over a thirty-year period despite being perceived as hotbeds of corruption.

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Michael David · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to the authors of the Philippine chapter, good governance comprises:

1) Checks and balances;
2) Regular and predictable regime succession;
3) Formally independent judiciary;

These three were not seen during the Marcos regime. In fact, the book itself stated that "in the Philippines, all collection flowed to the top." The factional mode of the Philippines, it argued, led to negative investment due to uncertainty especially during inter-regime periods.

The Marcos regime had a difficult time providing its legitimacy of rule (because it had none). While corruption during the Marcos era was cheaper due to the fact that it went to Marcos and his cronies, the absence of checks and balances still detracted from more productive investment.