Political dynasties and poverty: Resolving the “chicken or the egg” question

Mendoza, Ronald and Beja Jr, Edsel and Venida, Victor and Yap II, David (2014): Political dynasties and poverty: Resolving the “chicken or the egg” question.

Abstract

Political dynasties—members of the same family occupying elected positions sequentially for the same position or simultaneously across different positions—have become a common feature in many developing countries with democratic political systems. In the Philippines, for instance, political dynasties are prevalent in poorer regions, which lead to the following query: does poverty bring about political dynasties, or do political dynasties engender poverty? Using an instrumental variable technique to analyze metrics on political dynasties, we find strong evidence that poverty entrenches political dynasties but weak evidence that political dynasties reduce or exacerbate poverty.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: democracy; political dynasty; inclusive growth; political equality; social inequality
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D70 - General; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I39 - Other; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O53 - Asia including Middle East; P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems > P16 - Political Economy

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