Essays on democratization and redistribution in the Philippines
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Does democratization lead to redistribution? The redistributive hypothesis has long contended that it does, but existing work has been conflicted and inconclusive. This dissertation seeks to deepen and expand our understanding of the redistributive hypothesis by using the Philippines as a case study. Unlike most previous studies, I explore the effects of democratization on many different aspects of redistribution. The three chapters of this dissertation cover the effects of democratization on tax structure, public services provision, and land redistribution. Throughout, I use both qualitative and quantitative analyses and construct several original datasets based on primary and secondary sources. My results show that democratization has increased some forms of redistribution but that the effect has not been universal. On the one hand, I find evidence that democratization led to more progressive taxation and increases in the government consumption, education spending, public school enrollment, and land redistribution. On the other hand, I find no evidence that democratization led to increases in total tax revenue or health outcomes. Moreover, while tax revenue came from more progressive sources under democracy, this result is attributable to greater tax compliance by the wealthy rather than more progressive statutory tax rates. Similarly, while land redistribution increased under democratization, it also still encountered significant limits. Overall, my results provide partial support for the redistributive hypothesis. Consistent with this hypothesis, my analysis of the Philippines demonstrates that democratization can still lead to redistribution in developing countries today. However, despite seeing this effect, we also observe substantial restrictions on both the type and degree of redistribution in the Philippines. This suggests shortcomings in the redistributive hypothesis as well as the importance of analyzing multiple measures of redistribution.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2011 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Velasco, Nicole Melissa |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Political Science. |
| Primary advisor | Haber, Stephen H, 1957- |
| Thesis advisor | Haber, Stephen H, 1957- |
| Thesis advisor | Tomz, Michael |
| Thesis advisor | Weingast, Barry R |
| Advisor | Tomz, Michael |
| Advisor | Weingast, Barry R |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Nicole Melissa Velasco. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Political Science. |
| Thesis | Ph.D. Stanford University 2011 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2011 by Nicole Melissa Velasco
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