Social spending and democratic institutions in Southeast Asia: A comparative study between Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse how democratic institutions affects social spending formations in the context of developing countries. Furthermore, this essay will also challenge the theory that the government system (majoritarian versus consensus democracy) influences the magnitude of social spending and welfare commitment, especially in Southeast Asian democracies, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses descriptive statistics and qualitative data to match social spending with the development of democratisation in four cases.FindingsThe main argument is whether the presence of democratic institutions encourages the government to be more open, citizen-oriented and responsive or whether the inclusive political conditions will create more open public participation in the policymaking process. Thus, in the context of developing countries, public participation will be more likely to demand social policies.Research limitations/implicationsIt has not been able to undertake a more detailed impact evaluation assessment of the development and change of democratic institutions towards policy outcomes within a shorter temporal scope. In addition, this thesis does not also provide details or explanations about the interaction process between particular democratic institutions and specific social policy sectors.Practical implicationsThe process of interactions between particular electoral systems. For instance, the contribution to the emergence of policy in the health services sector or conducting research in normative democratic institutions such as public awareness of the importance of public participation in shaping and directing the implementation of poverty reduction policies could be studied, by using the historical institutionalism approach.Originality/valueThe impact of certain political institutions on public policy has become a very important discussion in the new institutionalism perspective. Social policy (social spending) as a manifestation of government’s commitment towards welfare is the result of institutional arrangement. In the context of developing countries, where social policy is needed to fulfill the basic needs of citizens, it is important to identify what kind of institutional formations are conducive to the development of social policy. This essay will analyse how democratic institutions affects social spending formations in the context of developing countries.