Political Dynasties and Poverty: Resolving the 'Chicken or the Egg' Question

Abstract

Abstract"Political dynasty" refers to the situation wherein members of the same family are occupying elected positions either in sequence for the same position, or simultaneously across different positions. In the Philippines, political dynasties are prevalent in areas with more severe poverty.Two explanations for this situation have been proposed: poverty brings about political dynasties, or political dynasties engender poverty. These arguments suggest that the relationship between political dynasties and poverty can be treated as an empirical question. (So which one is the chicken, and which one is the egg?) In order to examine the direction of causality between political dynasties and poverty, this paper turns to provincial-level data from the Philippines and develops novel metrics on political dynasties: the shares of total positions occupied by dynastic politicians, of the largest dynastic clan as regards total positions, and of dynastic concentration inspired by the industrial concentration literature. To address endogeneity, instrumental variables for poverty are used, consisting of indicators for rainfall and the geographical distance to Manila (the Capital). The results we find are striking: poverty entrenches political dynasties; education appears to have no bearing on political dynasties; and the media affect only the largest political dynasties. There is less evidence that political dynasties bring about poverty.

Does Political Dynasty Cause Poverty?

“…In this case, whether the granting of authority in finances can be utilized properly, where decision-making will have a consequence in this case will be seen how budget allocations in the region led by the political dynasty whether the decision is taken prioritize social interest or family interest, so the budget allocated will be right on target and able to improve people's welfare. Previous research has shown that poor political dynasties in dealing with poverty thereby creating poverty or undesirable performance (Bardhan, 2005, Nuritomo, 2014Sujarwoto, 2015;Kautsar, 2015), but others assume that dynasties do not create poverty but dynasty is synonymous with poverty (Mendoza, 2013(Mendoza, , 2014(Mendoza, , 2016.…”

“…Besley and Querol (2013) assume that society will accept dynastic leadership when its economic performance is good. Mendoza et al (2013Mendoza et al ( : 20142016) found that political dynasties do not affect poverty levels, but the poverty would strengthen the political dynasty. In addition, the decrease in poverty and inequality in income distribution is a direct and indirect impact of fiscal decentralization policies in which local governments play an important role through open and direct policies (Sepulveda and Vazques, 2011).…”

Structural Factors Responsible for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Results From 118 Countries

“…They are sometimes aligned with the rich group and sometimes with marginalized people and there is always the possibility for uncertainty to the form of political alliance and power (14). The dynasty politics creates a deep root power structure and it is very difficult to manage and creates instability (15). Moreover, there are some unethical practice in elections and there is no fairness and there is always a possibility for instability and large number of people get confused and divided (16).…”

Politik Kekerabatan Agus Ambo Djiwa Pada Pemilukada Kabupaten Pasangkayu Tahun 2020

“…Pendapat ini bisa ditelusuri melalui program-program petahana mendekati pilkada diarahkan kepada pembangunan infrastruktur dan hibah bansos. Studi yang dilakukan Mendoza dkk di Filipina bahwa politik kekerabatan menyebabkan kemiskinan (Mendoza et al, 2013). Tidak hanya studi yang dilakukan oleh Querubin menilai bahwa dinasti politik sangat memungkinkan terjadinya penyelewengan kekuasaan dan etika politik sehingga membuat pemerintahan tidak berjalan dengan efektif dan efisien serta menciptakan ketidakadilan (Querubin, 2016).…”