The Bargaining Context and FDI in Thailand and the Philippines

Abstract

This chapter presents a comparison of Thailand and the Philippines in the post-World War II era, with specific emphasis on the host-country context of FDI, and how FDI has contributed to the development patterns in these two countries. Until the late 1980s, the Philippines presented a good example of dependency-type development outcomes. It had experienced slow economic growth, low levels of development and a high incidence of mass and elite political instability. During the same time period, Thailand seemed to present a clear case of modernization-type patterns of high economic growth rates, improving levels of development and relatively low levels of mass political instability. Economic growth remained low but improved in the Philippines in the 1990s, but the financial crisis that hit Southeast Asia in mid-1997 will no doubt slow economic growth rates for both countries in the immediate future.