A Policy Toolkit for Addressing Varying Local Political and Economic Governance Environments : Insights from Philippine Provinces

In this paper, we propose that development trajectories in Philippine provinces are not just influenced by the concentration of power within certain families (fat dynasties) but also by the economic and institutional contexts that they are characterized with. Building on a typology of dynasty behavior in the Philippines by Mendoza et al. (forthcoming), we develop a policy toolkit that matches reforms with specific economic and political contexts across different Philippine provinces. A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to development neglects important local contexts that can shape the effectiveness and even the very process of implementing policy recommendations. The recommended development policies address issues of state capacity, political competition, economic competition, and geographic constraints. The dynasty typology and governance toolkit developed by this study makes economic and political development possible for all provinces in the long run