I would hope that the government starts attracting more semiconductor and advanced manufacturing firms, given it now has a sovereign wealth fund that could have that leverage. I also like their ‘green lane’ program that speeds up environmental review for projects like offshore wind.
I agree with you about land reform: all the Asian Tigers went through a process of land reform before they became truly developed countries. The Philippines is still saddled with landholding families that leverage their vast latifundia for political influence to the detriment of their society.
It's encouraging to see this type of recovery in the post-COVID years. We rarely hear these types of stories in the news. Keep up the great writing Emaan.
"Between 2019 and 2021, the proportion of adults with formal accounts increased from 29% to 56%. This was driven by increasing rates of digital access, exhibited by the fact that, as of 2021, 60 percent of mobile and internet users have done an online financial transaction."
Very impressive to have financial inclusion almost double in just two years. Look forward to seeing the Philippines follow in the footsteps of India (78%) and China (84%) by leapfrogging analog banking and going straight to mobile payment.
The infrastructure and financial inclusion strategy will hit diminishing returns soon - probably around 2030-35. The real question is that can the government find another growth formula by then or will it just try to double down and build bridges to nowhere like China did in the late 2010s.
I would hope that the government starts attracting more semiconductor and advanced manufacturing firms, given it now has a sovereign wealth fund that could have that leverage. I also like their ‘green lane’ program that speeds up environmental review for projects like offshore wind.
I do wish, though, that there’d be more emphasis on improving revenue collection, PPP oversight and land reform--the country inherited its deep inequalities from the hidalgos and principalia of the Spanish colonial era (see https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/anti-democratic-legacy-spanish-and-us-colonialism-philippines)
I agree with you about land reform: all the Asian Tigers went through a process of land reform before they became truly developed countries. The Philippines is still saddled with landholding families that leverage their vast latifundia for political influence to the detriment of their society.
It's encouraging to see this type of recovery in the post-COVID years. We rarely hear these types of stories in the news. Keep up the great writing Emaan.
Thank you, Colette!
Nice piece. The numbers on remittance are really striking
Thanks!
Paper on effects of emigration here:
https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/Abarcar_Theoharides_2020_July_FINAL.pdf
"Between 2019 and 2021, the proportion of adults with formal accounts increased from 29% to 56%. This was driven by increasing rates of digital access, exhibited by the fact that, as of 2021, 60 percent of mobile and internet users have done an online financial transaction."
Very impressive to have financial inclusion almost double in just two years. Look forward to seeing the Philippines follow in the footsteps of India (78%) and China (84%) by leapfrogging analog banking and going straight to mobile payment.
The infrastructure and financial inclusion strategy will hit diminishing returns soon - probably around 2030-35. The real question is that can the government find another growth formula by then or will it just try to double down and build bridges to nowhere like China did in the late 2010s.