School of Social and Political Sciences - Theses
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ItemExamining the link between democracy and inclusive economic growth in Southeast Asia( 2017)Embedded in all our assumptions and hopes for democracy is the belief that a democratic system will make life better, economically and socially, for its citizens. Given this almost universal assumption it is surprising how little we really know about the impact of democratisation upon the welfare of citizens and the variables linking the two. This thesis investigates the impact of democracy on Inclusive Economic Growth, and mainly questioning: “Does democracy matter in the delivery of larger and more effective social policies that improve inclusive economic growth? ”The four cases selected to empirically analyse the relationship among the three variables (democracy, social policy, and inclusive economic growth) are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The finding is social policy is one of the potential variables linking the two; especially when the development of democratic institution run stably and the vast majority of the people support it. In other words, social policy becomes an important variable to test the link between democracy and inclusive economic growth.
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ItemPublic accountability and public spending on human development: regimes, institutions, and resources( 2011)A large body of scholarly research provides convincing evidence on the linkages between human development and economic growth, poverty alleviation, distributive justice, and, at an even more important level, the expansion of human choices and capabilities, and the broader welfare and wellbeing of individuals as human beings. There is also credible evidence suggesting that public spending on education and health improves human development outcomes. What is much less well understood, however, is why some states choose to spend more on providing education and healthcare to their citizens, while many others keep pushing resources towards their militaries. Based on a revised conception of public accountability that encompasses political regimes, administrative and judicial institutions, and modes of resource mobilisation, I argue, within an overall paradigm of New Political Institutionalism, that it is the nature and strength of public accountability that makes governments responsive to citizens’ wellbeing, and thereby best explains cross-country differences in the level of public spending on education and health as well as the outcomes of this spending. Combining cross-sectional regression analysis with three historical comparative country case studies, I find — against the backdrop of the many potential determinants of public spending identified in the literature — extensive support for my argument. In particular, I find persuasive evidence indicating that democracy and high-quality institutions promote public spending on education and health, while democracy and dependence on taxation tend to reduce military spending. I also find human development outcomes to be strongly associated with democracy and high-quality institutions. My findings have some very significant implications for institutional design and the way we approach the question of human development, particularly in the less developed states.