Political Liberalization and Agricultural Trade Policy in Indonesia and the Philippines

The political regimes in Indonesia and the Philippines have experienced a political transition-from an authoritarian to an electoral system. Such a transition has contributed to changes in the policy-making process, including agricultural trade policy. Unfortunately, few scholars have empirically examined the impact of this political transition on the policy-making process. This article aims to fill this gap by examining the causal relations between political liberalization and agricultural trade policy in Indonesia and the Philippines in order to understand how political liberalization affects the policy-making process. It is hypothesized that the more liberalized the government becomes, the less likely it is to impose control programs on agriculture. Studying the government's intervention in the agricultural sector in Indonesia and the Philippines, it was found that liberal governments are likely to reduce the tax and price control programs imposed on the agricultural sector. This article implies that a liberal regime has a positive impact on rural farmers in that governments are less likely to implement policies that discriminate against farmers' interests.