The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman and
Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives (ARENA Philippines)

Invite you to a lecture-forum on

State Structure and Contested Development:
Thailand and the Philippines in
Comparative Perspective

Speaker: Antoinette R. Raquiza, Ph.D.

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Monday, February 27, 2012
GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, 2nd Floor, Seminar Room

Abstract: What explains differences in economic performance among states that are vulnerable to external shocks, crony capitalism, and political instability? In her book, State Structure, Policy Formation, and Economic Development in Southeast Asia: the political economy of Thailand and the Philippines (Routledge 2012), Antoinette R. Raquiza sets out to answer these questions via a comparative analysis of industrializing Thailand and relatively low-performing Philippines. She argues that distinct institutional settings of governing elites account for variations in these countries’ economic growth patterns and rates. The specific institutional arrangements between the political leadership and economic technocracy and the way they link up to state institutions structure the way politics influences policy and investment decisions. In Thailand, political power traditionally connects to state institutions in such a way that has limited the impact of political turnovers and global downturns. In contrast, Philippine state power derives from family networks that merge political and economic power, making political contestation much more disruptive to long-term economic development.

Antoinette R. Raquiza, is an associate professor at the De La Salle University. She earned her Ph.D. in political science at the City University of New York Graduate Center.