Based on the Dominican Republic’s economic and political institutional characteristics, we would expect social spending there to be at least average for Latin America. Yet in reality this country ranks at or near the bottom of the region in educational, health, pension and overall social spending, alongside significantly poorer, slower growing and less democratic countries. This article argues that the underdevelopment of Dominican social policies reflects the political impact of international migration flows, including both Dominican emigration to the United States and the immigration into the Dominican Republic from neighboring Haiti. These flows have inhibited the development of progressive political actors, including the partisan left and organized labor, and facilitated the adoption of an economic production model that erects additional obstacles to the expansion of the country’s social policies. Although the Dominican case is rather anomalous within Latin America, it holds important implications for countries outside the region.