Amid new and evolving dynamisms in our economic and political landscapes, we struggle to grasp the “long-running development issues” that Philippine society confronts and craft comprehensive responses to achieve inclusive resurgence from the pandemic and sustainable growth. In the economic realm, the imperative of pursuing an investment-led growth and the development of human capital are twin goals of overcoming the long emergency of bouncing back from a crisis.

On the political plane, the new administration should see to it that fiscal consolidation will be strategized and implemented and that innovation in the public sector will be realized. Altogether, good economic and political governance will definitely show how development issues could be inclusively addressed. In essence, collaborative and multistakeholder governance is the key to address Philippine development problems.

In this light, the Stratbase ADR Institute hosted a session entitled, “Economic and Political Governance Beyond the Crisis”, as one of the Philippine Economic Society (PES)’s sponsors and co-organizers for its 60th Annual Meeting and Conference.

Program

Introduction and Opening Remarks by the Moderator
Prof. Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit
President, Stratbase ADR Institute

Philippines: Pursuing an Investment-led, More Sustainable Economic Growth
Mr. Diwa C. Guinigundo
Former Deputy Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

In the last quarter of 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) observed that while global economic recovery was in progress, its momentum had somewhat weakened. With the lingering pandemic threats, there is a need to further rethink the country’s economic prospects and what could provide a viable way out of possible prolonged weakness of business activities and dislocation in the labor market. Risks continue to rise because of the uncertainty of the pandemic and its corresponding economic and business consequences. Economic scarring will definitely be a persistent challenge going forward. It is argued that in order to accelerate the recovery in a post-pandemic world, health mitigation should remain a priority, and alongside, public as well as private investments should be encouraged by public policy. Unemployment and inequality following the pandemic could threaten the economy’s long-term prospects.

Issues for the Next Administration’s Development Agenda on Human Capital and Labor Markets
Vicente B. Paqueo, PhD
Michael Abrigo, PhD
Non-Resident Fellow, Stratbase ADR Institute

This paper sets out by laying down the context of Philippine economic development. From the rapid growth experienced in the Aquino administration, the rapid, stable, and inclusive trajectory continued under President Duterte. With the pandemic outbreak, the economy is confronted with the challenge of carving a path to recovery and one of the major areas where the new administration is likely perceived to focus points to human capital and labor markets. An analytical framework is provided in order to gravitate the discussions on the determinants of job and consumption and the regulated labor market. In the end, the paper ventilates the call for a new strategy for labor productivity by tempering the use of traditional employment protection legislation (EPL), promoting workers’ productivity and employability by updating their skills and acquiring new competencies, and strengthening the unemployment insurance.

Building Back Better towards Inclusive Growth with Innovative Public Sector Governance
Charlotte Justine Diokno-Sicat, PhD
President, Philippine Economic Society (PES)

This paper focuses on public sector governance and surveys recent literature (to support the arguments) with the aim of answering the question “How can the Philippines build back better towards inclusive growth with innovative public sector governance?” Though there are many ways to answer this question, this paper suggests answers on three levels. First, the national government needs to strategize fiscal consolidation by balancing this with the need to recover the economy through both physical (infrastructure) and human capital investments. Second, local governments should contribute to economic recovery by strategically utilizing the adjustment in their intergovernmental fiscal transfers owing to the Mandanas ruling. Third, there is need for institutional and governance innovations that cut across the public sector such as investments in data and information systems and harnessing digitalization.