Why has the literature on Asian development not addressed the issue of money politics in Korea? How can we reconcile the view of an efficient developmental state in Korea before 1997 with reports of massive corruption and inefficiency in that same country in 1998 and 1999? Politics is central to the answer. This study argues that both Korea and the Philippines experienced significant corruption throughout the post-independence era, and that political--not economic--considerations dominated policy making in both countries.

New from Voices of the Tea Party. In Crony Capitalists in Our Back Yards, Amy Handlin, a Harvard educated Republican member of New Jersey's General Assembly, demonstrates that crony capitalism is as much of a problem at the state and local level as it is at the federal level. Drawing on her personal experiences, Ms. Handlin paints a colorful picture of some of the political insiders who've used their positions of power to advance their own financial interests at the expense of the public welfare. Ms. Handlin concludes with a set of practical recommendations that average citizens can undertake to fight crony capitalism in their own back yards.

New from Voices of the Tea Party. In Crony Capitalists in Our Back Yards, Amy Handlin, a Harvard educated Republican member of New Jersey's General Assembly, demonstrates that crony capitalism is as much of a problem at the state and local level as it is at the federal level. Drawing on her personal experiences, Ms. Handlin paints a colorful picture of some of the political insiders who've used their positions of power to advance their own financial interests at the expense of the public welfare. Ms. Handlin concludes with a set of practical recommendations that average citizens can undertake to fight crony capitalism in their own back yards.

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This report examines the increasingly popular practice of using tax-increment financing (TIF) to promote economic development. TIF works by allowing cities to use the property, sales, and other taxes collected from new developments to subsidize those same developments. While cities often claim that TIF is "free money" because it represents the taxes collected from developments that might not have taken place without the subsidy, there is plenty of evidence that this is not true. TIF takes money away from schools, fire departments, libraries, and other urban services funded by property taxes. By eliminating TIF, state legislatures can help close current budget gaps and prevent cities from taking even more money from these urban services in the future.

This report examines the increasingly popular practice of using tax-increment financing (TIF) to promote economic development. TIF works by allowing cities to use the property, sales, and other taxes collected from new developments to subsidize those same developments. While cities often claim that TIF is "free money" because it represents the taxes collected from developments that might not have taken place without the subsidy, there is plenty of evidence that this is not true. TIF takes money away from schools, fire departments, libraries, and other urban services funded by property taxes. By eliminating TIF, state legislatures can help close current budget gaps and prevent cities from taking even more money from these urban services in the future.

In Crude Politics, Paul Sperry presents alarming evidence that the Bush administration diplomats resumed talks with Pakistani officials over gas and oil pipelines in Afghanistan while the United States was still reeling from the horror of September 11, 2001.

Paul Sperry contends that, true to America's energy-based foreign policy of the last half-century, the Bush administration seized the opportunity to use the attacks as reason to oust the Taliban-the major obstacle blocking plans for the precious pipelines linking Caspian reserves to hot Asian markets. With journalistic integrity and painstaking research, Sperry will enlighten readers on:

• How commercial gain within the current oil-friendly administration has undermined our nation's war on terror.
• How our safety has been jeopardized because of an overriding effort to charge ahead with a new "Silk Road" through Afghanistan, making the capture of Osama bin Laden a secondary concern.
• The nature of war and the politics behind the major decisions being made in the current administration, including those regarding Iraq and other "axis of evil" countries.
• Crude Politics also pulls back the veil on Bush's behind-scenes operator for regime change in both Afghanistan and Iraq -- former energy consultant Zal Khalilzad.

Of all the factors blamed for the Asian economic collapse of 1997, one stands out above all as the primary reason for the surprisingly rapid meltdown of East Asian economies: crony capitalism. But this system—in which those close to political policymakers receive favors allowing them to earn returns far above market value—is not limited to Asia. Crony systems are found around the world, and in no region of the world have they been as fundamental a feature of the economy as in Latin America. In this book, Stephen Haber and his expert contributors examine the causes and consequences of cronyism in Latin America. Drawing from case studies in Mexico, Brazil, and other countries around the world, they answer key questions about this pervasive phenomenon, examining why crony economic systems come into being, how they get re-created over time even in the face of dramatic regime changes, why they survive despite being detrimental to growth, and, most important, how crony capitalism can be reformed. Crony Capitalism and Economic Growth in Latin America does not attempt to cover all the wide-ranging issues related to the political economy of crony capitalism. It does, however, offer a powerful point of departure—in terms of both theory and empirical research—from which further knowledge can be developed.