| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 106.5

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 106.5 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Asia

Wong Kwok-chu. The Chinese in the Philippine Economy 1898–1941. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press. 1999. Pp. xvi, 279.

It has been recognized among economic historians that entrepreneurship was an important factor in the development of the market economy and hence market-driven growth. In the context of East Asian history, one group stands out prominently in this regard: the overseas Chinese. Indeed, this group has been crucial to postwar growth in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore—so much so that the term "another China" has begun to be used to describe it. However, very few scholars have asked how overseas Chinese got where they did and why. Even fewer understand there is a long history behind the seemingly recent success story. Wong Kwok-chu's monograph tackles such tasks, using the Philippines as a case study. 1

The book consists of two interrelated parts. Part one, with four chapters, deals with the general business environment for the Chinese from 1898 to 1941, a period marked by Western colonialism and world trade. Part two, with three chapters, investigates the Chinese way of doing business: how they formed business networks, how they related to the rest of the economy, and in which sectors they chose to invest. The main thrust of Wong's book lies in his analysis of the delicate triangular relationship among the Chinese immigrants in the Philippines, the ruling colonialists (first Spaniards and then Americans), and the indigenous peoples. This triangular relationship was closely related to the market conditions for the Chinese and, in particular, to the "state-market paradigm." Wong's study clearly reveals that, although the overall market conditions were unfavorable and often highly discriminatory (e.g. pp. 108–11), the Chinese maintained their position in the Philippine economy until the brutal Japanese invasion and occupation. . . .

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