In the early postwar years, the Philippines seemed poised for long-term economic success; within the region, only Japan had a higher standard of living. By the early 1990s, however, the country was dismissed as a perennial aspirant to the ranks of newly industrializing economies, unable to convert its substantial developmental assets into developmental success. Major reforms of the mid-1990s bring new hope, explains Paul D. Hutchcroft, but accompanying economic gains remain relatively modest and short-lived. What has gone wrong? The Philippines should have all the ingredients for developmental success: tremendous entrepreneurial talents; a well-educated and anglophone workforce; a rich endowment of natural resources; a vibrant community of economists and development specialists; and abundant overseas assistance. Hutchcroft attributes the laggard economic performance to long-standing deficiencies in the Philippine political sphere. The country's experience, he asserts, illuminates the relationship between political and economic development in the modern Third World. Through careful examination of interactions between the state and the major families of the oligarchy in the banking sector since 1960, Hutchcroft shows the political obstacles to Philippine development. 'Booty capitalism,'he explains, emerged from relations between a patrimonial state and a predatory oligarchy. Hutchcroft concludes by examining the capacity of recent reform efforts to encourage transformation toward a political, economic order more responsive to the developmental needs of the Philippine nation as a whole.

A lively introduction to historical methodology, an overview of the techniques historians must master in order to reconstruct the past.

Considering studying history at university? Wondering whether a history degree will get you a good job, and what you might earn? Want to know what it’s actually like to study history at degree level? This book tells you what you need to know. Studying any subject at degree level is an investment in the future that involves significant cost. Now more than ever, students and their parents need to weigh up the potential benefits of university courses. That’s where the Why Study series comes in. This series of books, aimed at students, parents and teachers, explains in practical terms the range and scope of an academic subject at university level and where it can lead in terms of careers or further study. Each book sets out to enthuse the reader about its subject and answer the crucial questions that a college prospectus does not.

Unlike other conventional histories, the unifying thread of A History of the Philippines is the struggle of the peoples themselves against various forms of oppression, from Spanish conquest and colonization to U.S. imperialism. Constantino provides a penetrating analysis of the productive relations and class structure in the Philippines, and how these have shaped―and been shaped by―the role of the Filipino people in the making of their own history. Additionally, he challenges the dominant views of Spanish and U.S. historians by exposing the myths and prejudices propagated in their work, and, in doing so, makes a major breakthrough toward intellectual decolonization. This book is an indispensible key to the history of conquest and resistance in the Philippine.

This volume, a compilation of selected historical essays, is envisioned to capture the kind of information that global Filipinos need and to serve as a quick reference for them during their interactions with other people in foreign lands - whether they are in Australia, Europe, the United States, the Middle East or Asia and the Pacific. There are now an estimated 7.9 million Filipino expatriates living and working in 193 countries throughout the world. The essays have been grouped into three parts. The first provides answers to the question of Filipino identity, and how that identity formed. What are the symbols of Filipino identity, national and political? The second part discusses why Filipinos became known as 'brown Americans of Asia,' explains how the Americans changed the lives of Filipinos with their Pacific adventure, and how the Americanization of the Filipinos was realized easily. The final part talks about global Filipinos, how they survive outside the Philippines, and the problems they encounter. How does Filipino migration help the Philippines survive? The book also presents a discussion of two issues needing clarification - the Philippines' territorial claims on Sabah and the Spratlys, and the life of Imelda Marcos, the most maligned woman in Philippine history, who is compared to another controversial figure in another country's history - Evita Peron, the former First Lady of Argentina. REVIEWS The author accomplished what he ought to do, that is, provide a ready, easy background historical resource for our overseas Filipino workers about Filipinoness; a good historical narrative and at times quite satisfying since he injects nationalistic commentary and understanding of the events in our history and not falling into the usual self-censorship brought about by a mis-educated Filipino mind. I find the book a good one to taste for a start to learn about our history, to share, keep and give to friends and relatives; a truly handy primer, firstly for our own selves as Filipinos and our descendants, and for informing our foreign hosts and friends in foreign lands. . . . We Filipinos need this kind of handbook in helping discover, know and understand ourselves from our past and in the struggle to revive our nationalism and thus regain our homeland from our traitorous fellowmen and their foreign partners/sponsors. from the The Philippine Star by Domini M. Torrevillas