Since the time of Aristotle, scholars of politics have contemplated the betterment of the welfare of human kind. Building on the traditional and often conflicting views of human welfare attainment, this dissertation seeks to expand understanding of how the human condition is determined and might be improved. Specifically, it examines how overlapping political, economic, social, and international factors affect the economic status of the population, the success of state policies, and society-based groups that attempt to alter the relative position of one or more groups. / In order to test the theoretical model, a pooled, cross-sectional time series design is utilized. Seven equations are generated to account for welfare, growth, the level of development, state penetration, state extraction, state economic policy, and inequality. Two Stage Least Squares(2SLS) serves as the method of analysis for the nonrecursive, simultaneous equation model. / The 27 provinces of Indonesia from 1975 to 1990 serve as the cases for examination. The high growth rate due to the oil boom, the rigor of state adjustment programs, and the regional inequalities serve as important circumstances to test the model. Moreover, the diversity of Indonesia permits the inclusion of variety of differing regions into the analysis, while remaining within the context of a single country. / Theoretically, the model attempts to produce a synthesis of the more diverse opinions from the welfare literature. Empirically, the analysis finds that some of the major assumptions of the basic needs school are supported, specifically those pertaining to the negative effect of growth on welfare and the positive effect of welfare on growth. The positive relationship between inequality and welfare highlights the inequalitarian effect attempts at welfare enhancement in developing countries. Furthermore, the high degree of variation in welfare over time within the provinces dispels some of the additive assumptions related to welfare attainment. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-03, Section: A, page: 1304. / Major Professor: Patrick James. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1996.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77672 |
| Contributors | Ling, Jeffrey Elton., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 225 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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