This is a part of the DEMAND AND SUPPLY column of economist Boo Chanco. Full column can be accessed at http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=80379 A new and improved Ate Glue? ... On the other hand, von Amsberg paints another more positive scenario, the "takeoff" scenario. If the Philippines is to be set on a path toward joining the East Asian renaissance, key decisions need to be made. The fiscal gains of 2006 have to be followed up with real investments in 2007, with infrastructure playing a driving role in the real investments. With new investments, there will be more jobs and income, and Filipinos will begin to feel the fruits of the economic reforms. The choices are clear: muddle through or take off. If indeed we have a new improved Ate Glue ready to govern as she should and not as her political allies dictate, then we just might take off. But unless I see concrete evidence that the new and improved Ate Glue is for real, muddle through is the likely scenario for the next thousand days.
BOO CHANCO
Poor Ate Glue! She may proclaim through the rooftops until she is blue in the face that the economy grew the strongest during her watch but the people are not inclined to give her any credit for it. That’s because people can’t eat statistics. If the economy is really strong, how come they are not feeling it?
The same question was the subject of an article by Karen Bitagun in the Makati Business Club magazine and website. The general populace, the MBC publication noted, measure economic growth in terms of availability of jobs, access to services, and food on the table. The areas that have recently been experiencing growth — the stock market, export revenues, or even OFW remittances, affect a more limited number of people.
The MBC publication turned to World Bank country director Joachim von Amsberg for his views on what exactly is going on in the Philippine economy. Mr. Von Amsberg says sustainability of stronger than usual economic growth depends on strong policy signals from government and real investment to come in. Unless investment kicks in strongly, that 6.9-percent growth is in street parlance, ampaw.
According to Von Amsberg, as quoted in the MBC publication, the per capita GDP growth rate of the Philippines from 1966 to 2004 averaged 1.28 percent, significantly lower than the regional average of 5.77 percent. "This is not talking about one administration, not talking about one regime, but a 40-year perspective," he explains.
It would appear, he said, that the Philippines has been missing opportunities and did not adapt well to changes in those four decades. The country’s recent economic performance has picked up, but there are still doubts about whether this can be sustained and expanded to the point that it becomes palpable to all Filipinos.
The local World Bank representative thinks "one of the basic building blocks of economic expansion is improvement in infrastructure, where, unfortunately, the Philippines has failed miserably compared to its neighbors." The paradox, he observed, is that the Philippines is a "country with wonderful assets, great opportunity for progress, educated people, natural resources, and wonderful neighbors who are rapidly developing and strengthening the dynamic business sectors. But the modest development outcome, modest levels of growth compared to other countries of the region, is rather a slow progress in terms of improving the quality of life of the poor and poverty reduction." Von Amsberg points to poor infrastructure as the culprit. "I want to make a case that infrastructure policies and infrastructure investments are actually quite central for the Philippines to grasp its window of opportunity and become part of rapidly growing East Asia. Entrepreneurs, and business leaders have told us that infrastructure is a major concern and constraint to investment," says von Amsberg.
The good news, according to the World Bank official, is that the year 2007 presents a unique window of opportunity for the Philippines to catch up on infrastructure investments. For one, the country’s fiscal condition is now healthy and can therefore afford disbursements for infrastructure projects. Furthermore, there is presently high liquidity among international investors just waiting to be tapped and channeled into infrastructure projects. Just as we have written in this column, the World Bank executive sees two possible scenarios for the Philippines in the next three to four years.
"The first scenario is a continuing ‘muddle through’ scenario, where fiscal reforms and the current positive environment will lead to complacency," says Von Amsberg. In this scenario, he expects politics will dilute fiscal reforms and investments will not pick up. Unless urther policy reforms are pursued, people will not see financial gains leading to better jobs or higher income.
11 June 2007
The importance of improving infrastructure
23 May 2007
Face to face with the legend
During my interview at the Philippine Embassy for my Monbukagakusho scholarship application, the first question from the panel was, “Why do you want to study in Japan?” My candid answer was “Some of my favorite agricultural economists are Japanese, and it is a fact that there is much to learn from the experiences and expertise of Japan in economic development.” One of the panelists immediately made a follow up question, “Like who are your favorites?” I answered, “Like Dr. Yujiro Hayami, Keijiro Otsuka, Sam Fujisaka (actually, a sociologist).”
And so when my adviser informed me that Dr. Yujiro Hayami will be visiting Kochi University and will be giving a seminar, I was filled with quiet anticipation. And when my adviser later added that he arranged for graduate students to have a short coffee time with him, I was even more excited, but felt a tinge of dread. There are not many occasions when you get to talk with famous people whom you know only through their works.
His Seminar: What is Development Economics? "Physics: Why sky is blue and forest is green?
Development Economics: Why some countries are poor and some countries are rich?" - Y. Hayami
This quote is in his first slide reflective of his ability to write economics in simple yet insightful way, as can be seen in his numerous books and journal publications. One can not mistake economics for mathematics in his work; rather one will appreciate economic theory and see its logic in reality.
(I wish I could include here excerpts on what he said in the seminar but he gave the seminar in Nihongo so except for his occasional reference to his slides written in English, I didn’t understand much of what he said which is very unfortunate. Nevertheless, you can access his presentation for reference at http://www.savefile.com/files/747944.)
There is much to think about just by reading the information from his slides. Mine was my old favorite question to foreign economists: What has gone wrong in the Philippine case?
What has gone wrong in the Philippines?
If the Philippine economy was not too far from Japan’s in the 1960s, where did we go wrong? Why have we progressed but not as far as Japan or Taiwan or Malaysia, and now Thailand?
“That is a good question, but a difficult one to answer. My hypothesis is that until now, the Philippines has not overcome the problem of wide discrepancy in income." He thinks this is probably a remnant of the long Spanish rule characterized by landlord and peasant system. He also agrees that part of what has gone wrong is in the cultural-institutional sub-system in the social system (see his slide on the interrelated developments in a social system).
Is there hope for development in the Philippines?
“Yes, I think so.” One of the strengths of the Philippines is education. Most of the young children go to school, and literacy is high. The emerging problem here is that a lot of your educated people migrate and end up working for other nations.
As I went on to discuss my topic of interest: what factors determine income diversification or what factors promote or limit rural farmers and fishermen from taking advantage of off-farm or non-farm opportunities, he added that one route to reduce poverty and inequality is to capture the opportunities that the current globalization wave has created. He discussed with passion the potential merits of establishing a rural trading network that will allow small rural farm households even in the hinterlands to participate and take advantage of the global demand for labor-intensive goods especially from developed countries. Yet this production and trading network will have to be built on a community-based contract enforcement mechanism as he calls it. It will not be fast and automatic, but it is a good direction for a more balanced urban-rural development.
As he has concluded in one of his recent papers Globalization and Rural Poverty (2006),"Indeed, the current globalization wave has created a great opportunity for rural communities in developing economies to reduce poverty and inequality. However, whether this opportunity can be captured by the rural poor depends on how wise public investments are allocated in their support for infrastructure including education and extension services. The needed support should include improvements in the efficiency of markets by building institutions to protect property rights and enforce contracts while the government should refrain as much as possible from direct intervention into markets."
Although the last few words of the quote is ironic in that Japan is known to be an utter protectionist for selected commodities and a generous provider of subtle direct subsidies, indeed it is probably the shrewdness of the Japanese government in allocating public investments and building institutions that brought them to where they are now--two areas the Philippine government probably needs improvement.
"I am better in writing than in speaking."
Here's an incomplete list of the books he has written:Anatomy of a peasant economy: a rice village in the PhilippinesBeat that smile!
Yujiro Hayami
A Rice Village Saga: The Three Decades of Green Revolution in the Philippines
Yujiro Hayami and Masao Kikuchi
London: Macmillan/Barnes & Noble/International Rice Research Institute, 2000.
Development Economics: From the Poverty to the Wealth of Nations, Second Edition
Yujiro Hayami
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Communities and Markets in Economic Development
Masahiko Aoki and Yujiro Hayami (eds.)
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Agricultural Development: An International Perspective
Professor Yujiro Hayami and Professor Vernon W. Ruttan
Asian Village Economy at the Crossroads: An Economic Approach to Institutional Change
Yujiro Hayami
The political economy of agricultural protection: East Asia in international perspective
Kym Anderson, Yujiro Hayami, and Aurelia George
The agrarian origins of commerce and industry
Yujiro Hayami and Toshihiko Kawagoe.
St. Martin's Press, New York, 1993
Cheryll, Filipino, poor country; Dr. Hayami, Japanese, rich country; Saharia, Bangladesh, poor country
15 April 2007
Dr. Delgado Valdez Jr.
His Profession: Veterinary medicine (one of the board exam topnotchers!)My first encounter with him was when he was a young teacher at the Benguet State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Before I had a chance to hear his genius though, I had to shift my course and move to the College of Agriculture, and so as a student in a different department, I didn’t see nor hear much of him after that. More than 10 years after, we met again, and this time at Kochi University. Again, he is a researcher cum professor in one department; I am a student in another.
– manininjection si baboy?
His Specialization: Cryobiology (just search ScienceDirect!)
– toy yat ngata din wada sin uneg di freezer ay mabiyag?
His Passion: Teaching and learning, plus civic work
– man-isuro gayam panragsakak ngay!
His Cry for his Countrymen: Hunger for knowledge, passion for reading
– maniskwila kayo! manbasa kayo!
His Other Hand: Business (service first, profit second)
– uray busy ak adi yan ikuskusak sik-a si card
He’s a treasure here at Kochi and not just for the University but for all Filipinos around here, especially the Benguet trainees scattered around the province. For Kochi University, he’s the excellent graduate, the productive researcher--well-loved, difficult to let go. For Kochi and the Japanese, he’s the Filipino to be emulated. For most of us Filipinos in Kochi, the brother, the sister, the mother, the father, the friend, the driver, the tourist guide, the guidance counselor, the postman, the garbage-collector, the educator, the salesman, the person-to-run-to, the encourager all rolled into one. He’s a gem to everyone and he’s loved.
As a new student in the University, he was part of God’s grace to me. He helped me settle in my apartment in the old campus, leave my apartment, and enter another dwelling in this new campus. My frequent exchanges with him through SMS or through the net were part of my survival strategies. Above all, he continues to inspire me not only through his accomplishments, but more so, his discipline and humility as a student and a researcher.
It is my fervent hope that this gem will one day be found by one of the institutions in Benguet, or at least in any part of the Philippines the way Kochi has found him. For in this era of capital and labor globalization, it is not very unlikely for Benguet and the Philippines to lose him.
I wish I could give more justice in writing about Manong Nato or Valdez-san to many. But people like him can never be contained in words, so this is just a trial of some kind, similar to his many experiments. This time he is the subject.
10 April 2007
日本とフィリピン: みんなちがって、みんないい
I first came to Japan summer of 2001 for 3-months JICA Farm Management Training at the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) in Tsukuba Science City. At that time, I was privileged to stay at the JICA Training Center where there were other Filipino trainees, and most of the residents are foreign trainees from developing nations. Even with the occasional events and study tours, and the lectures on Japanese culture, what I observed was more of the Japanese academic community culture. I was interested to learn the Nihongo language then, but in three months and with a paper I needed to produce, all I managed to remember were the classic Konnichiwa, Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Konbangwa, Sayonara, Itadakimasu, and Gochisu sama, not to mention the dame word kuso that a Japanese colleague kindly taught me with a stern warning never to use it because I’m a lady. Apart from the methods and the research discipline I learned from my research adviser and colleagues at the laboratory then, my best memories of those three-months were my times together with nine wonderful women, some old enough to be my okaasan, mostly my oneesan. They were administrative assistants from the varied laboratories at NARC, and we always ate our obento together. We had proper seats then so we always knew who was not around. Not a day passed without a good laugh. I can still picture that room and each of their faces, and that one beautiful lunchtime when I blew candles for my birthday.
Five years after, I’m back, and this time in this brave new world of Kochi, a sister province of Benguet province, my hometown. It’s been more than three months now, and it’s altogether another wonderful experience. My first few weeks were not easy as I practically doomed myself to thinking that I’m a forlorn figure in this part of the world, despite having the kindest adviser anybody can have. As weeks drew into months though, my phone calls gradually waned from daily to weekly, and I gradually saw the beauty of this humble, quiet, and safe community. Just as the shinkansen has not started running in its rails yet, life in Kochi is not yet as fast-paced as in Tokyo or other bigger cities in Japan. I see people from neighboring houses shouting Ohayou behind fences, and taking time to chat, sharing a word or two. They still probably know who lives in the house next door, and it warms my heart just watching them. I also like the times when a simple question gets me talking with old women or men in the train or in the bus, which becomes a springboard for a longer talk. I am always willing to try my newly learned Nihongo words, and they are always more than willing to tolerate my struggling Nihongo or practice their Eigo, and we always end up having a fun conversation. There was even a time I had so much fun that I completely forgot to drop my fare, so I had to pay to the next street car that came by. Though I have yet to make a buddy, my acquaintances in Kochi so far are kindhearted, helpful, and have a zest for life and learning. And true to their being Japanese, they are health buffs, and given to challenges, which probably explain their long average lifespan. This passion and goal for long life among the Japanese is contagious, and it’s probably one of the first things I am psyched up thus far.
In these two periods, I’m always asked to compare my country and Japan. It’s easy to do that when one thinks logically. It’s almost always like a stereotyped comparison of a developed country and a developing country from the perspective of economics. Japan is rich; the Philippines is poor. Japan’s population is decreasing; the Philippine population is increasing. Transportation is convenient in Japan; it is inconvenient in the Philippines. Japan’s culture is traditionally rich; the Philippine culture is a mix of traditional and an agglomeration of varied cultures from foreign colonizers. It can go on and on and on. But the following line from the poem written by Kaneko Misuzu perfectly captures and describes what I personally think about Japan and the Philippines, or about the Filipinos and Japanese, or between any nations or peoples for that matter:
“鈴と小鳥, それから私, みんなちがって、みんないい”.
(Suzu to kotori, sorekara, watashi, minna chigatte, minna ii)
In parallel, nations and peoples are diverse, and when one recognizes and appreciates this diversity, one can say with great confidence in the creator God that indeed, minna chigatte minna ii. What is even more amazing with this perspective is even within nations and peoples, individuals are diverse and have varied capacities. And however, great are the temptations to generalize and say that living in Japan is safer or living in the Philippines is impossible; Filipinos are warm and sweet, and Japanese are distant and withdrawn; or that Americans are peace-loving and Muslims are trouble-makers, there are just too many cases and situations when one is proved grossly wrong or proved otherwise.
And so with this perspective, I try to live my life, and enjoy each day here in Kochi. With this perspective, I look forward to three years more of living with the Japanese brethren. And as I learn from them, enjoy their hospitality, and share my life with them, I know that just as there is life sublime in the Philippines despite all its tribulations, there is too here in Japan despite its vast economic resources.
(This is an article published in the Akebono No. 25 :March, 2007 - a publication produced by the Kochi University Volunteer Association for Foreign Students circulated within the association members.)
9 April 2007
He gave me you; He gave you me
Intro: D-D2-G/D2 (2x)
D Asus Bm
It’s amazing how He worked
A G
to make us see
D Asus G
That He was bringing our hearts together
Bm F#m
Though a glimpse of His intention
C G
was all we could sense
A Asus A
By His goodness He made us see
D D7
His plan for us
G Asus
I thank Him for you
F#m Bm
And for making me see
Em D
That He gave me you
Asus D
and He gave you me
G Asus D G Asus D
He gave me you; He gave you me
Em F#m G
This is what He instilled in our hearts
Asus A
from the start
Bm F#m G D
So there you are and here I am
Em D Asus D
We are ready and willing to be made one
E B E A B E
He gave me you; He gave you me
F#m G#m A
This is what He instilled in our hearts
Bsus B
from the start
C#m G#m A E
So there you are and here I am
F#m E Bsus E
We are ready and willing to be made one
F C F Bb C F
So let’s now make our vows in Him
Gm Am Bb
For this is what He made us long for
Csus C
from the start
Dm Am Bb F
So here I am ready to be your man
Gm F
Cause He gave me you
Csus F
and He gave you me
“Cheryll,”
Dm Am Bb F
Here I am ready to be your man
Gm F
Cause He gave me you
Csus F
and He gave you me
Dm-Am-Bb-F-Gm-F-Csus-F
* The Lord gave me the above song while i was praying for Cheryll few weeks before our wedding. I sang it for her during the bridal march. It reflects the theological framework from which we both understand and see our relationship.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
In the grace of Christ...
Together with our parents...
We, Marlon and Cheryll...
thank you all for worshipping God with us when He made us one flesh on Saturday, the seventeenth day of March Two Thousand and Seven at nine-thirty in the morning at the Benguet State University Gymnasium, La Trinidad, Benguet.
... charged from the Scriptures
Ephesians 5:21-33Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ......Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her......For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
...signed
...witnessed by our second parents
...witnessed by family and friends
...celebrated
31 March 2007
Japanese Class Closing Ceremony Speech
Following was what I nervously delivered infront of my seven able Japanese teachers, and other Kochi University staff:
こんにちは。先ず、わたくしは文部科学省と高知大学に日本で勉強のチャンスをあたえてもらったので、かんしゃいたします。私のしどうきょうかんにも、にほんにきてから、たいへんおせわになっていますので、かんしゃいたします。日本語の先生たちにもねっしんに教えていただいて、心からかんしゃいたします。もちろん、留学生センターの人にもいろいろなことを手伝ってもらったので、高知だいがくの生活に早くなれることができて、どうもありがとうございました。わたしはめぐまれているということを、かみさまにかんしゃいたします。
予備教育の授業でたくさんのことをならいました。はじめは日本語の勉強はハイペースで難しいと思いましたが、だんだん楽しく、おもしろくなりました。日本語を勉強するために、先生たちにいろいろなほうほうをつかっていただいて、いろいろなイベントにもさそっていただきました。
今わたくしの日本語の文法は時々まちがって、まだじょうずではありませんが、ひらがなとカタカナがほとんど読めるし、日本語で少し話せるようになったので、とてもうれしいです。また、いちど、じぶんでほけんセンターとせいけいびょういんにいって、レントゲンをとることができました。そのとき「これからのさんねんかんの高知のせいかつはだいじょうぶそうですね」とうれしくなりました。せんせいたちがおしえてくれた日本語はとてもやくにたちます。
漢字もすこしおぼえられました。漢字のいみがわかるのは大切だと思います。でも勉強した漢字はすぐわすれてしまうので、たくさんおぼえられるようにがんばっています。今日本ごを楽しいくよむ本をよんでいます。とてもおもしろいです。
四月から、くろしおの大学院で勉強します。新しい農業けいざいの研究のほうほうを勉強したいので、これからの三ねんかんがとても楽しみです。日本語も続けて勉強したいから、もし農学部で日本語のクラスがあって、じかんがあったら、うけたいです。
最後に日本語の先生たちにたいへんおせわになりましたから、もういちどおれいをいいます。どうもありがとうございました。よていがかわってしまい、すみませんでした。
わたしの話をがまんしてって、ありがとうございました。
これからもよろしくおねがいします。
Five hours after that, I was on my way home to the Philippines to get wed.
